Newb in Boston Area

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Greetings all! Apologies for the long message!

I cant say I'm a complete newb here as I've been reading articles and listening to podcasts for months.  Love the podcasts. Gives me something to learn from and listen to during commute and at work.  I am new to the forums though.  This is a bit of an intro and request for guidance in a certain area.

A little about me:  I always like to learn to keep the brain functioning. I never immerse myself in anything so much that I become an expert but I reinforce my jack of all trades mentality.  In recent months I have been engaged in learning about Forex, real estate, opportunities around RC Drones, and photography.

For obvious reasons, the potential in real estate is what puts it on top of my list. I have a close friend who has a small commercial real estate business.  He's pushed me to get my license because he doesn't really use a broker. I recently passed the MA exam but have yet to look to be sponsored.  Aside from his buy-and-hold properties, he started getting involved in what I call "flipping commercial".  Buy location, find national tenant, sell building + lease to REITs, investors, etc.

This leads me to the guidance part of my message.  Given my current job, I try to work harder, not smarter and use data to do work for me.  Most of the opportunities he's found have been as a result of driving around in the areas where he currently has a project.  I want to be able to use public data to identify opportunities. Started looking into MassGIS site and what ways to layer in other data to find "deal locations" for him.

Any guidance would be appreciated. Any networking and conversation with any of you would also be appreciated!

Thanks for taking the time to read.

EJ