I'm in Santa Barbara County which is impossible to make work so I'm forced out of the area.

I’m definitely looking into areas where it’s always a first pick for expats by default.

There are plenty of jobs and opportunities if you know where to invest and where not to. 1.5 rent to market value ratio is pretty attainable and closer to 1:1 in nicer areas.

We do live in a small rule area where properties are a little cheaper, but so far it’s been very difficult to find something that seems to pencil out.

Go out to AirBNB and VRBO and check the area where you are looking.

Can anyone recommend investor-friendly lenders and property managers in this area?

Generally speaking, have any of you invested in this area and been successful?

You can also check meetup.com or search Facebook for real estate investment groups, clubs, or meetings in your area.

Most any major metro area is going to have good demand for medium-term rentals.

In solar sales (door to door) the setters typically make about this same range.Most companies in the house flipping world seem to buy lists online or run basic skip traces of areas and send lists to VAs to setup calls with the owner of the company.