I am now working as an engineer in the Twin Cities, but have plans of moving to Austin, TX with my wife to house-hack and work in the more plentiful tech market over there. 

There's quite a bit of threads on the same topic weekly - you'll find plenty of markets shared.What will help you figure what market to invest in will be answering a few questions for yourself: are you willing to travel to that market, what is your buy box, are you seeking appreciation or cash flow more, do you have or reasonably can garner an edge in that market (ie - can you build a great team).

Plenty of people are happy they took those kinds of risks.

The good subs in your area will likely have plenty of work already and may not even return phone calls.

The income amounts look to be long-term rental (which they are and came in 30% lower than what the STR average did) and 2. why did the appraiser look at homes 20 miles away to compare to when there are PLENTY of rentals in town...

With its strong demand for housing and rapid growth in various neighborhoods, you’ll find plenty of opportunities.

As you indicated you have plenty of options to start.

So your 35% operating expenses makes sense and seem plenty conservative to me.  

Sending over a connection invite now, thank you. 

South Florida has plenty of solid investment opportunities, especially with the right network.