It very well could become a large enough investment to be worthwhile, also solving for "unexpected emergencies ", for the most part and would an easy self management situation if you were to live onsite in one of your connected townhomes.

I live in Lancaster, PA and it's a lot here that's very positive.Our market is historically pretty stable and hasn't been subject to sharp increases followed by sharp decreases in property values.

For reference, we're heavily involved in the co-living space, which is an unorthodox strategy but can perform exceptionally well with the right property and systems in place.

You have multiple people living in each others spaces.

I used to live in the city and the taxes and water bills are nightmares.

Since STR “lives” on reviews, being “right” because of the contract the guests signed might be the most expensive “right” you’ve ever experienced.So what’s left for the “wanna be” STR investor in today’s market?  

Quote from @Maurice Nkonsissie: HelloMy name is Maurice, I live in the greater DMV area.

We’re fortunate to have an above-average income and live well below our means.This summer, we’ll be moving to Detroit (PCSing in August), and we’ve saved about $120,000 to invest in addition to having funds set aside for the home we’ll purchase in Detroit.The reason I’m posting is that I’m struggling to decide how to best allocate the $120k.

I would probably work with an attorney in North Carolina (or wherever you live) to do some estate planning since you do have young kids.

If you aren't going to be living in Texas then it would be tough to do a house hack there.