Newbie without a location

[Anjana Vakil]

After lurking on these forums for a few weeks now I guess it's time I introduce myself!

I currently live in Germany, but I'm originally from Schenectady, NY, and also lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for quite a few years, among other places.

Soon I'd like to come back to the States and buy, restore, and hold a small multifamily (2- to 4-plex), living in one of the units and renting out the other(s).

I'm not committed to a location, but areas I'm considering (where I have some ties) include:

- NY Capital District (Schenectady, Albany, Troy, Saratoga)

- New Orleans, LA 

- Austin, TX 

- Denver, CO

- Bay Area, CA 

Some of these (Bay Area, Denver, Austin) are probably much too competitive/expensive to be realistic, and I'm definitely open to other livable, growing cities as well. Ultimately I'm also interested in investing internationally, especially in Europe, but I think the US will be a safer place to begin.

BP and its community have already been so informative - thank you! I look forward to learning even more from all of you, and becoming a more active member :)