My STRs are in a small destination mountain town and finding good cleaners is the #1 struggle. 

Lubbock has a low barrier to entry and has several backup economic drivers by being the primary hub (agriculture, financial, healthcare, material goods, transportation, entertainment) for an area the size of most states east of the Mississippi.

@Jason Fitzwater do find guest care more about being closer to the town of Blue Ridge and attractions like Mercier’s Orchards, or is Cherry Log/Mineral Bluff/etc. area still good?

Given I am in a college town and a lot of students find themselves between leases over the summer, during breaks etc.

Places like Liberty/Claycomo/Gladstone in the Northland, Blue Springs and the Eastern side of Independence, on the East side of town, Olathe/Lenxa KS on the SouthWest side, and more. 

I personally am in a college town and my target audience tends to be single travelers, and or couple(s) traveling to visit campus or visit their student at school.. so for me in my market the 1 bedroom / studio units are the best ROI in terms of occupancy and revenue per sqft, I believe. 3) I’d open up a convo with a few local hosts and see what their experiences have been and chat with them about their journey.

Our major focus has been developing two larger (for us 220/365 units) locations in a larger town and we haven't looked back at our original locations. 

I have a local agent in town that I have kept in touch with since we moved here. 

That's what happened to many of the towns in 2018 - entire towns under water - but no one had flood insurance.

And then hold.To me, I'd suggest you look at smaller towns that have good schools and are close to cities so that you can get houses closer to that 200k or less mark yet still have a shot at decent appreciation and decent rental increases over time.