Newbie not sure if I should invest out of area

[Austin Stout]

Hey fam! My name is Austin Stout, new to the forum. I'm looking for some input on my current situation with getting started in multifamily. I'm not sure about the long-term economy of my hometown, Price Utah.

The biggest and most reliable employment in Price is with education as we have a branch of USU in town and various grade schools. 

There are less than 9k people in town with not much job growth. 

According to some info I found online, 35% of the properties are rented vs owned

Median home value- 179k Median market price- 132k. (values have went up 5.5% over the last year according to zillow.com

I have been researching St George Ut, and Cedar City UT as well but I'm not sure how feasible it would be to start out living 4-5 hours away from my properties. (sounds tough)

 I live at home with my parents and have saved up a bit of cash to help get started. That being said, I will be needing my own place soon as well.

Should I get started here in town providing I find a deal where the numbers make sense? (Hopefully, live in one unit and rent the others) or go to a bigger city with a more reliable economy and more property options?

I would really appreciate any insight! 

Thank you for your time!

[Caleb Heimsoth]

Investing far away (out of state) only makes sense when the numbers are much better there then locally.

I can buy a 250k home here that rents for 1700 (okay numbers) or I can buy a 50k home that rents for 800. I’d rather do that, hence out of state