House hacking seems like the best strategy for me.My goal is to purchase a single-family home in Maryland, D.C, (from lurking I've heard D.C was terrible for investing) or Virginia with multiple rooms where I'm making monthly payments similar to what I pay in rent and other charges ($2000-$2500).

Do some research to figure out what type of property—long-term rental (LTR) or short-term rental (STR)—best suits your goals.

Los Cerritos Wetlands Oil Consolidation and Restoration Project (California): This project demonstrates how public-private land swap arrangements can be aligned with environmental restoration goals.

Quote from @Kyle Carter: What are some questions that you can ask to each of the required team members(PM, Agent, etc. ) to ensure that goals align and they are best fit.  

My goal is to rent it out to start generating some cash flow.I’m planning to remodel the kitchen soon, and once that’s done, I’d like to move out to make the apartment available for renters.

Hey Ben,I totally get the challenge of balancing your lifestyle with real estate goals.

I think another factor here in determining whether its a good investment is your age and your goals. 

NC is a great market for your goals, however it will be challenging to find inventory that has much cash flow; many people who toss money into multifamily here do it to avoid the tax bill + take the 10 year runway of growth.How much SHF RE do you currently have?

If appreciation and scalability are your long-term goals, consider house hacking or saving for a bigger market later.

Feel free to ask any questions here.In addition to a "Facebook community", how about a Slack channel?