Vegas is heavy tourism, Austin has faster growth and a more diverse economy from what I've seen.

It boils down to rent/price ratio, economic diversity, population size & growth, vacancy rates, landlord friendliness, and REI activity. 

This statement is spot on.Counties are vast geographically and very diverse with a substantial number of factors influencing rent and therefore value.

I suspect beer sales will go up in the effected neighborhoods as people find themselves with more time on their hands. 25% of Houston's 7 million population is foreign born, and they are one of the youngest populations of any city in the world.Houston has a diverse economy.

Kiefer, I'm not in that market, but you want to look at demographics (population size & growth, median income) & employment data (diverse economy? 

SoCal has a lot of great and diverse markets.

Portfolio diversity came in handy for you.

This will allow more of our family/friends that are interested in investing but may only be able to do $500-$1000 and still get some return to help diversity their portfolio. 

We have a diverse economy.

Some suggestions on how to think about where you might look:I wanted something that was within a 2-hour flight/drive from NYC, so on the chance that I needed to go out there, I could do so and get there and back in a dayThink about areas where you have family/close friends that either have a base knowledge of that location and/or can provide a secondary reason for you to travel thereMake sure you pick a spot that has a diversity of industry, multiple universities nearby, and a compelling price-to-rent ratio (aka, low prices to purchase relative to the amount you can rent it out for)Cheers,Brian