Newbie in Nashville, but maybe not for long?...

[Rachel Hertel]

Hello all! I am living in Nashville, but I'm from Chicago. I've decided to join the Bigger Pockets community as part of my journey to financial flexibility. Having my son was a reality check. My husband and I have always had a lot of selfish fun and never thought too far into the future, but now we want to make sure he (and any future kids) are taken care of the way our parents took care of us. I wish I had thought about pursuing RE investing sooner, but I guess hindsight is 20/20. 

Anyhow, my husband is at a crossroads with his career. It may either keep us in Nashville, move us to Cleveland, or back home to Chicago. This uncertainty can be a bit paralyzing, but I believe networking with experienced folks here will guide me through setting up potential plans for any of these locations. If we stay in Nashville, I'd like to buy a rental property, either in Murfreesboro or Clarksville. If we move to Cleveland, I'd either like to house hack with a duplex or find two affordable homes, one to live in and the other to rent. And if we move back to Chicago, I'd like to buy a 3 or 4 flat in order to cover our mortgage (and ideally cash flow, but from my brief perusing of the forums here, it seems hard in Chicago.)

I work part time right now, as I took a step back to spend time with my son. My long term goal is to be able to supplement my income investing in real estate, but for now, what I've laid out here is my first step towards that goal. I'm so glad that a friend suggested I check out Bigger Pockets, and I look forward to engaging in this community!

[Rachel Hertel]

@Jamie Jones We like Donelson! That makes a lot of sense to consider the type of crowd we'd be attracting depending upon the location. If we stay in Nashville, I will absolutely consider Donelson. Thanks for the advice!