What are the best areas to invest near NYC for a newbie?

[Nick Sansivero]

Hi all, a little about me: I'm 26 and I work in Manhattan for an Organization focusing on marketing and lead generation for our large residential portfolio. I've spent the last several months studying real estate investing and I'm finally ready to pull the trigger and start taking action. I just finished reading David Greene's BRRRR and am convinced this is the strategy I want to use. However, since I'm new I have limited funds for investing (about 12k to get started). I live in Williamsburg Brooklyn where the prices are high, so I'm struggling to find an area to start that is affordable.

Does anyone have recommendations for neighborhoods within NYC or close-by New Jersey that are a combination of affordable but not totally undesirable? I'm currently looking at studio/1bd units.

Alternatively, do you think it would be wiser to use a different strategy to start such as flipping with hard money, since I'm looking to get started with only around 12k? Or should I possibly consider long distance BRRRRing outside New York? 

I'm really looking forward to your advice and building as many connections as I can on Bigger Pockets. Thanks!

[Nick Sansivero]

@James Wise good idea, doing this now. Thanks James