Invest local or out of state?

[Ryan Tall]

Hey BP community, I'm a fairly new investor and have been eating up as much information as possible. Heres my situation. I'm looking for advise, tips, opinions, experiences anything helpful regarding investing in my local market vs out of state. I'm located in Salt Lake City and have had my first and only rental property here for almost 2yr. It wasn't a "home run deal" but it cash flows a little over $100 a month and has appreciated well in the short time I've owned it. I'm ready to purchase my 2nd property but as I've been listening to BP podcasts,reading books and the forums, I'm thinking I might want to invest else where. I run the numbers on properties outside of UT and find greater returns on a property that is less than the properties I'm looking at locally. I just don't know what the best way to go about investing somewhere I'm not totally familiar with or have reliable/trusted connections? I work full time but manage my one local property just fine without a management company. If I were to purchase my 2nd property local I would do the same and continue to self manage.  I know at the end of the day it comes down to me taking that leap on a property out of state if I choose to. If I were to choose to invest out of state, what are the critical things I need to be aware of? How would I make the proper trusted connections? Should I just stay local and wait to find a "home run deal"? Thoughts, opinions, personal experiences, anything helpful please share! I'm young and hungry to continue to invest in real estate, just wanting to make sure I make the right decisions. Thanks in advance for the help/insight!