Newbie getting into short term rentals

[Heather Carrow]

I am new to real estate investing (currently house hacking). Ever since I was a kid I've wanted to own vacation rentals and it is something that I am really passionate about. My spouse and I would like to start out with STRs and maybe eventually do some long term rentals. My issue is that I would like my first few properties to be within a reasonable driving distance from my house, but I am unsure of the stability of these markets. For example, I live closest to Maryland and Delaware beaches (Ocean City MD, Lewes, DE, Bethany beach, DE, etc.) however, these areas only have strong tourism during summer months (May-August). My other thoughts were Virginia Beach, Myrtle beach, or the Outer Banks. Does anyone have any experience investing in STRs in these areas? What do you look for when evaluating good STR markets?