A couple of assumptions I see here stand out to me.

I lived in Austin for a couple years.

When selling a primary residence you have lived in 2 of the previous 5 years you get a tax exception on profits of $250k for a single person and $500k for a married couple filing jointly.

Even if these relationships don't go anywhere, you'll get a lot from just having a couple of calls.Next I would try to find some local investment groups/communities and try to chat with as many investors as you can to get an idea how other's started out in your market.

Quote from @Jadan Williams: Hello bigger pockets experts, I currently live in california but will list my house for sale within the next couple months i want to use between 100-200k for an investment but not sure how to go about it.

Quote from @Nathan Gesner: There were a couple experienced investors on the forums that loved to tell everyone they could manage a short-term rental in just five minutes a week. 

I attended the RALA 3-day training in Phoenix and took a couple of online courses as well, and while I found these courses to be very valuable in helping get a clearer understanding of the space and what it might take to be successful, I eventually I found it most beneficial to bring in a partner/advisor who has built residential assisted living facilities here in Texas and has been running them successfully.

I’m hoping she’ll be able to help me with this, but I don’t meet with her for a couple of weeks, so I’m trying to work through a few things in the meantime! 

Or should I wait it out a couple of years until I have a larger amount saved up.

I have a couple lenders that can do non recourse.