The technicals (migration rates, job growth, tax situation, debt cost, etc) to work as well.

(My next visit being Jan 22 - Feb 4)My full time job... 

The job market is tight here in Lake County right now.

There's a specific forum for House Hacking.You'll want to spend some time reading through there as it's a common topic.

Get a paying job with the 40 hours you free up.

If it's not feasible due to circumstances I suppose I'll have to adjust my situation (find weekend job, move back to NJ with parents, move to a different state with, etc.)All responses are appreciated, and I am absolutely open to chatting on the phone by the way.My view on house hacking is it can be a great tool to buy a house you could not  otherwise afford, but it shouldn’t be a goal in it of itself if that makes sense and that’s not to discourage you from investing just there are alternatives such as the stock market. so I’d start by asking where you want to live, do you want to own a single family home or does it make more sense to rent in a more interesting neighborhood like Arlington, Alexandria, that’s gonna be a personal choice, Will your monthly payment actually be less than renting/how many people do you need to get in the house to afford that?

Also, focus on 2 years of job/income stability.Class D Properties:Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciationVacancy Est: 20%+ should be used to cover nonpayment, evictions & damages.Tenant Pool: majority will have FICO scores under 560 (almost 30% probability of default), little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, recent evictions.

It seems that to be on Section 8 you need to look for a job on a regular basis.

They have have done a great job outlining all the possible things that can go wrong and what  can go right.  

Quote from @Nathan Gesner: Unkempt lawns, trashy or broken down vehicles, mattresses and trash on empty lots, boarded up houses, bars on windows, dealers and hookers on the corners, the lack of stores or gas stations, occupied properties are dilapidated, etc.Or when Google maps shows stuff like this: If those are drug zombies, as they appear to be, that's an "F" class neighborhood where nobody pays rent and structure burnouts are common.