While you're starting off, its not necessary.

Really expedites the time it takes to reach FI when you can completely eliminate your housing payment and get into multis for such little down and start building equity/cash flow with each one.

Excellent start. 

But about 1 year after we bought the property, they started cracking down on the homeless in downtown Jacksonville moving the crime to the neighborhoods just outside of Jacksonville.

I’m thinking a small town could be a great place for me to start compared to big cities.

It's time to start the process as everyone else mentioned above.

From my side as the CFO of a developer, GC, and property manager, I see a 12-24 unit building(s) as the sweet spot to start—big enough for economies of scale, but not so huge you’re drowning in management complexity.Case in point: we’ve recently wrapped up two 12-unit apartment buildings, brand new construction and cash flow ready from day one.

Hey George, congratulations on starting your real estate journey! 

There are a handful of active agents here on BP in the Portland area (including my business partner and I) who would be good places to start.

I think everyone's situation is different, and when one crafts their buy box, they need to consider their current family and finances.For me, when I started, I wanted to buy 2-4 unit distressed properties in neighborhoods I wanted to live.