As a part of the acquisition, all my stock options were accelerated and paid out as cash through payroll.

hello everyone, i am 22 and the past several years i solely invested in the stock market which i have grown to a portfolio of 275k but i have always listened and been learning about real estate. i am now wanting to pivot to diversify and get my first property. thing is im stuck and having a hard time trying to decide what to do.

If it is an employer-sponsored 401k plan, then your employer will control the investments, and you will be limited to the stocks, bonds, or mutual funds they generally offer.

The cheapest housing in San Diego is older apartment stock (which also is not cheap).  

This isn't much different then investing in the stock market... there is risk and there is reward.  

@Kristin Vegas - If you are buying in Chicago proper, be sure to become familiar with the landlord tenant ordinance which is specific to the city. https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/doh/provdrs/landlords/...There is a good stock of multifamily housing just west of the city if you are looking for a more suburban feel with better schools and policing while still being able to get to the Chicago city center within 15-20 minutes. 

Even with stocks, there is "full service" where you call a broker to sell the stock for you instead of selling it yourself through a platform.

There are a lot of people who bought Game Stop stock and call themselves investors too...

@Steve Onay Texas will likely be a bit more landlord friendly than Chicago, but as you referenced, the building stock in Chicago is just ideal for house hacking.

@Travis AndresThe beauty of such "rules" is that they are up to each investor how much stock you put in them.