In 2017 we started our journey with long-term buy-and-hold investment properties in the Memphis, TN area after selling a property that we were losing money on every month in NOVA that we purchased as a primary residence in Jan 2007 (talk about all-time bad timing) and then had to move with the Navy in 2009 (2nd all-time worst timing).

However if you are attempting to use rental income for your departing residence that's where it will be a little tricky... 

I own a house that I am living in with a VA loan and want to buy a different home and move into that as my primary residence and rent out my first home.

This means that you will probably need to pay registration and filing fees in at least 2 states if you don’t buy CA property as a CA resident.Be sure to tell your accountant that you may now need to file non-resident income tax returns in each state where you own property as well.

We are debating between selling our first primary residence or keeping it as a rental.

Love the idea of helping out a first time buyer, may run into trouble if she's not the primary resident, check w/ lender but I don't think that'll fly w/o more of a down payment.

Not specific to OP but I constantly observe the pressure investors face to buy real estate.

Nevertheless, some outside pressure (i.e.

You may have local ordinance(s) that allow them to step in and apply pressure to correct the matter.

You might also want to double-check if having a local property manager satisfies the city’s requirements or if the operator still needs to meet the residency rule.Good luck with your Airbnb arbitrage—Cincinnati can be a great market!