House hack through COVID in a STR destination

[Brenton Ricketts]

[Note: I'm a long-time lurker, first-time poster]

Hello BiggerPockets,

My wife and I moved to San Francisco (from the east coast) at the end of last year for work and were excited to explore a new city/state/coast (even if it meant sky-high rent), then COVID hit. Like everyone else, our life looks quite a bit different now; working from home, limiting our trips out of the house, and just generally debating what the future holds. We planned to purchase an investment property early next year, but the current environment as well as our personal situation has left me wondering what the best RE investment strategy will be. 

A few contributing factors: (1) my wife already worked remote pre-COVID and my employer is WFH until at least early next year, (2) we're paying an ungodly amount in rent for a tiny apartment without any of the original benefits of living in the city, and (3) we plan to spend the next 3-5 yrs on the west coast before eventually moving back east.

The current strategy I'm debating is two-fold. Buy a single-family property (at least 3/2) in a vacation-oriented destination (think outdoor activities as the main attraction) to live in full-time. When (if?) the world starts returning to normal (vaccine/therapeutic is available, my office opens back up, etc.), we would move out and transition the property to a STR. I've done some high-level research on AirDNA and like Sonoma county (Russian River Valley area), Tahoe (although it's probably out of budget and local regs are not STR-friendly), or NorCal / Southern Oregon coast. All are "drive-to" destinations from the Bay Area and seem profitable for STR.

Thoughts? I'm a newbie, so what am I not taking into consideration?

Thanks,

Brenton