Must do 1031 exchange before July 15th , what to buy ?

[Tracey Robinson]

Hi, I’m a novice, trying to get into making extra income through real estate though I do have stable employment. Have just sold a condo and must do 1031 exchange by July 15th. Will have 400K as liquid funds from that, and have to spend 800k to avoid paying  66k of capital gains. Before covid, I had thought about a buying a home in Palm Springs to do as Airbnb, now that makes me very nervous. My ideas now have run all the way from just paying the capital gains ( due to fear of what will happen in the RE market ) to buying rental property on a platform like roofstock. I do have time off in June and July to find / research properties anywhere in US but no expertise in that area. 
Would appreciate any suggestions about what to buy, locations that may be best in light of covid / effects on the economy and if it would be best to buy up to 800 k or pay some boot because of economic uncertainty.
Ideally, if I could chose, I know this is not the best time to be selling / buying but this is a done deal that was in the works for months before covid was known. I do have good / stable income in the medical field, and good credit FICO score around 830 so I think I would be able to get a loan. 
Thanks for any advice!