You can usually live in a favorable location for your lifestyle and either commute to a property or hire folks to do all of the heavy lifting for you.

@Tim McCarthy if you are thinking mid term in mass you  need to look at commute.

There are only a few exceptions that allows someone to have more than 1 FHA loan at a time.Relocation: If a borrower is relocating to a different area not within reasonable commuting distance of their current residence, they may be eligible for another FHA loan to purchase a new primary residence.

So not quite the same as South Florida, but I do have aspirations to move my investments south, where the commute is a little less! 

You might want to explore Athens or Decatur, still within commuting distance to Huntsville government jobs, but real estate prices not so high. 

I value my freedom and time with my family, and I can't keep commuting 5+ hours a day - I'm not in my 20s anymore.

That way you don't buy a triplex and decide you hate the company you work for and you get a new job an hour away and have that long commute.

Hey BP, I have a family member in my community who's planning on leaving their property in a few months due to work commute and affordability.

I've actually driven by a few of these on daily commutes.

However as I am looking for my next property, if I buy to live in, I know I will take a hit and be negative cash flow for a few years but if I buy an investment property I would go a little outside the city/in commuter towns most likely.