Very Confused Beginner Investor

[Ray Sudur]

Hello awesome people. I am a 30 yo dude who lives in Cedar Park TX. I have been reading books and lurking in forums to learn more about real investing specifically buy & hold & rent strategy. I am currently a home owner myself with a mortgage so I have some idea how mortgages work.

Now, I am learning more and more about private money and real estate investing. One thing is driving me crazy is this. I am looking at redfin, zillow and other tools to help me understand sold property prices in Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown and Round Rock areas. I have 40K to invest. My biggest question is that how the heck you locate a good neighbourhood? I mean, when I look at zillow or redfin, there are so many neighbourhoods that have houses in my price range (225K or below), and I get lost very quickly figuring out which one I should go and start driving around. Do you know what I mean? How do you learn about neighbourhoods and decide which one you are gonna focus on?