Now if the property is not a direct flight plus a 2 hour drive from the airport, it will be that much more time consuming to make a visit.  

When people have to cancel their flights and one week vacation to Hawaii, they will still get in the car and drive 2-5 hours to enjoy a day or two somewhere else.

Find cities that you can get to easily from San Francisco (nonstop flights would be ideal) and focus on those as you will have to visit regularly. 

I am attempting to lay out my financial path to semi-retirement (i.e. leaving my current w2 for something less time consuming/more enjoyable) within 10 years or less.I can identify my family's spending now and what I ...

Currently renting by the room to Flight students on the local bases.

Minneapolis; crime is still on the rise here and while I am empathetic to the cause that’s initiated allot of the energy in the city, I also can see clear capital flight from major businesses and there appear to be many homes in uptown and around Minneapolis that are listed but not selling, are investors fleeing and is it wise to invest here still?

How many are gonna get on that flight.

People will still take vacations in recessions, but they are more likely to cut back on the super high end ($500+ per night) destinations, or places that require a flight, higher travel costs. 

I didn't read this essay until my flight back, but I couldn't get rid of the annoyance and it did negatively impacted my vacation. 

Flights are fairly cheap (compared to property) so I’ve always flown out for my initial weekend search — not just to look at homes, but mostly to make sure I’m happy with the designated neighborhoods where I want to buy, and to make sure I’m aligned with my agent on my “buy box” criteria (using homes we see together to point out elements I want in the final purchase).