We are both nurse and plan to travel for a good portion of this time, so 'living' in the small 1br or studio apartment for residence purposes will not be a major issue for us since we will rarely be there.

Originally posted by @Efrain Ruiz:I am near the Newberry area and travel to Columbia, Spartanburg, and Greenwood regularly.

Or should I keep tenants in units and once they move out turn it into midterm rentals for traveling nurses, etc? 

Random example from this week:Sell at a loss or rent at a lossOn the other hand, if you are willing to put some time in by traveling to the market, spending time getting a network set up, screening dozens or even hundreds of properties, and taking the time to get set up right, you increase your chance of success.  

Unless you're in the right market, traveling nurses can be hit-or-miss.

Traveling? 

But if you plan to travel back and forth, just make sure you that the people you have working on your property are highly reputable and trustworthy. 

Do you want to travel 2 days to the east coast, FL or something only a day away you can get to quickly like AZ or NV?

It’s very hard for me to see almost anyone I can think of giving up thier mortgage that’s cheaper than renting in most cases because of acute financial distress, certainly the region could feel pain as people cut back in other ways like eating out, travel etc. but the number of people who will be forced to sell I suspect is in the low single digits..I don't live there, I don't buy there.

I’m also interested in the Louisville market - given the SF Bay Area (where I live) is too pricey for a newbie like me to start off in - and I travel to Louisville several times a year for work.