As a result, many investors (including myself) are either spending a very small premium for way fewer headaches in other markets or moving farther afield to more promising opportunities. 

There is so much content already here on BP, why don't you just spend a little time reseraching?

But I wanted a nice property and I couldn't justify spending $500,000 on a nice property there.  

Spend more than half of your total working hours in an RE business in which you materially participate.2.

If you have the extra time, I recommend spending some time calling owners around your area.

Why we build the same floorplan over and over again:1) Easier for Trades and Faster Build Times: Our trades have been working on the same layouts repeatedly, so they have become more efficient.2) Less Mental Space for Decisions: We don’t spend too much time deciding on which floorplan to build, we focus our time on growing the business and serving our customers.3) Best ROI based on Square Footage: The floorplan we build gives us the best return on investment.

In all fairness, making between $300-$400K on deals this size is incredibly good money given the time you spend.

Renting in these areas with a roommate or two will likely be less expensive than PITI in the 'less fun' suburbs.If you do decide buying when you move down here, I'd take a few trips and spend a week or so down here to help narrow the search.

The cash out wouldn't fully pay back my personal loan plus I'd need to spend 6-7k to furnish the place.

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.