Newbie from LA/OC area, Southern California

[Sunshine Chow]

Hi everyone! My husband and I are from the LA/OC area in Southern California. We would like to start real estate investing in the hopes of gaining financial freedom and have the option to leave our regular day jobs, but we're not sure where to start. So far we've signed up for a few meetup groups and have started reading different real investing books and forums. We are also thinking about becoming part time real estate agents to help build more capital to participate in real estate investments and are in the process of researching real estate companies that we may be able to work with. Any book/forum recommendations, meetup recommendations, or tips on how or where to start would be greatly appreciated! I look forward to meeting you all! :)