October 20 through April 14.I will try avoiding having a lot of war stories of my own.I'm developing a diverse portfolio with various forms of rentals and renting styles; as well as rent to own. 

Diversity of Employment Opportunities (i.e., industry concentration):  Look for areas that aren't overly dependent upon a single industry and/or employer.  

I'm interested in getting into flipping low-mid priced homes in the charlotte area, and ideally find some buy and hold opportunities for the long term.Im working on becoming familiar with the city and it's small "pockets" of diverse neighborhoods and hoping to meet and discuss the area and business with other investors, RE agents, contractors, etc to hopefully do business with down the road. 

I would share that link from our site, but the BP police would poof this post.The economy and employment are fine; actually the LR economy is pretty diverse to the extend Moody's named it the 2nd most diverse economy in the US, with Chicago being # 1.  

Jacksonville is a very diverse city so I can help you narrow down which area you may prefer if you can tell me some of your interests.

steady population growth, steady job growth, job diversity are a few important factors to look at if you plan to invest there for the long term. 

Look for markets that have growing popluations, jobs, incomes and diverse, modern economies.

Low price to entry, a diverse job sector, and long term renters make it a strong market.

Indianapolis is a great market not just because it cash flows well but it has strong economic/demographic trends such as a growing population, growing jobs, a modern economy with a diverse employment base.

Using Orlando to define your search could yield a pretty large and diverse area.