Brand new and looking around Birmingham

[AJ Rios]

I'm AJ from Florida and I am brand new.  I have been looking around Birmingham and I've narrowed it down to Shelby and Jefferson Counties but I don't have any idea of what areas to stay clear of so any advice is welcomed.  I am interested in Multi-family with some opportunity for value add projects but not necessarily any full guts.  The main things I am looking for at the moment are suggestions for lenders in the area that work with long distance investors, Facebook groups where local wholesalers hangout and also to just meet generally cool individuals that invest in the area that aren't opposed to chatting with some random new guy.  Glad to be moving forward and appreciate your time!