What do you look for in a city?

[Zach Davis]

I think most of us know the rules of thumb for running the numbers on the individual properties we're considering buying, but I'd like to know what everyone looks for in a potential investment city. I think we've all come across that "phenomenal deal" in a town with a declining population of 300. Is that a deal you would move on and if not what kind of city/county/zip stats do you want to see before buying? What kind of population do you look for? Do you look at population trends, unemployment rates, median income, or percentage of renters in that market? If you do look into those types of things what sites or services do you use to find that info? I'd love to see what everyone looks for and how it differs across the country.