Newbie in NYC, interested in Philadelphia!

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Hi everyone,

I'm a software engineer who's been living in NYC for the past 4 years. Prior to that I was in CT where I was born and raised. I came across bigger pockets after having had a brief discussion with a friend about someone he knew who was buying properties sight unseen in the midwest. I didn't give it much thought at the time because it seemed super sketchy, but soon after found myself looking into real estate as an alternative to traditional 401K/IRA/etc investing.

For the past month or so I've been reading a bunch of books including the great ones here from BP, and also listening to the podcasts and lurking the forums.  

My goals are pretty typical for a wannabe NYC investor.  Would love to invest in this area, particularly house hacking sounds like it would be great.  But not sure how feasible it would be without looking out a great distance.  I'm also a bit concerned about the outer borough markets, i.e. Jersey City, Long Island City, Queens etc..  I just am seeing tons of new constructions coming and combined with rent drops am worried about a correction happening in the near future.

As an alternative I'm interested in Philadelphia.  I have a bunch of friends living there already and like the idea of investing in a place that can cash flow better.  Either way I'm happy to join this great community! 

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Thanks @Dave Visaya and @Erez Friedlander!