Im looking more towards the commercial side of development, however you may find "Professional Real Estate Development" and "Real Estate Development - Principles and Process" by the Urban Land Institute extremely helpful.

Urban core is much closer with changes in higher density.If most of the centers are only 50% occupied and rents are stagnant then you have an oversupply situation especially if centers are older.

I could have still made lemonade with lemons, but I certainly would have sacrificed a full year and a half of cash-flow with the eviction process, in a major urban area that is not too landlord friendly.

“But one of the smartest strategies of the world class is doing what they love and finding a way to get paid for it.”On the other hand, middle class take jobs they don’t enjoy “because they need the money and they’ve been trained in school and conditioned by society to live in a linear thinking world that equates earning money with physical or mental effort.”I would have taken the risk and started my own business like I considered after college instead of taking the first job offer that came along.

As for NYC, there is definitely an urban hype going on that is a little shocking at times.

Analyze the local safety, political, and economic circumstances and get a feel of long term general (urban, industrial, infrastructural) development.

I landed myself a consultation job for the program director of a popular urban label!

@Martin SchererI see the kind of exuberance you are talking about in urban and coastal areas.

I would lean towards an urban feel given it's proximity to downtown Philly.  

Hello Danielle,I am in Chicago and I attend The Urban Rehabbed REIA.