The North up along I-17 where the Taiwanese chip plant is going in. 

I shot you a request.what are your thoughts on the North Shore?

Greetings from the state just north of you!

I'm not very intimate with the markets to the north and south, but I would start looking at price to rent ratios and decide what type of rental type and terms you want to invest in.

I've house hacked all throughout North Jersey. 

I like that you pointed out all the positives and negatives for a fair balanced post that will help other investors evaluate future options.I have been posting for a while on how hard the North Alabama market has become, and this post shows a good example of it. 

I own a lot in the North Port Sarasota County area that I'm also looking to build on.

@Jacob Dalton - I have been a landlord in Chicago for 13 years and as an investor agent I have worked with 200+ investors on the north side of Chicago over the last 10 years. 

Sounds interesting if you have a email I can send you the info for a hard money lender I know since they only lend in texas, Colorado,  Georgia,  Tennessee, north Carolina and Arizona 

It's not the best setup nor the best part of town, but you can make it work.