Balancing Rental Market Research with Full Time Job

[Trent Warner]

Hey folks, loving the BP community thus far, hoping to make my first purchase soon! Stuck on a bit of a hard-spot though, might be over thinking. 

A lot of the education (books, podcasts, forums, etc) I've been taking in thus far seem to generally encourage a few things when looking for a market and a deal

-Get intimately familiar with that market. Drive around, call around, check out other properties, etc.

- Don't be afraid to explore outside your own backyard.

In my case, my 'backyard' is AZ. Born and raised there for 24 years. Currently in San Diego on orders, and it's a short drive away. HOWEVER, from forum reading thus far, and generally getting a rookie feel for it, AZ does not seem like a good place to start for a first time investor. Which is fine, because i really want to look somewhere else, like Houston.

Problem is, I'm starting a sea duty here shortly that's going to be 12 hour days, easily. Plus underways! Any home time, I want to have with the kids! Flying/driving to other markets, then,is practically out of the question!

So, how do you do serious, in-person market research and familiarity development if constrained by a demanding full-time job? For that matter, is it even wise to buy sight-unseen for a first-timer, given these constraints? 

Thank you all!