With the BiggerPockets member base being so diverse (not just in Real Estate), I would love to hear peoples' thoughts about the financial services industry.

On the contrary, California, New York and even Illinois are seeing quite a bit of negative population migration trends at least for 2019.Always good to buy in markets with good population growth, lower than national average unemployment, strong employment job diversity, strong rental growth, etc.

Chicago is so diverse and what works in one area will not work in another. 

Again not a deterrent because if you pick an area with diverse employment it won't be a death sentence when one employer moves.

West Orange is rather diverse in economics and ethnicities, a large town in square mileage.

It has good employment diversity and lower crime rates than Racine though.  

Look for market with healthy population growth, job growth and modern, diverse economies.

Denver has a diverse economy, a lot of educated people, great weather and a good business climate.

So Homes in south-east/central Macon and even Warner Robins are flying off the market thanks to Amazon.Macon is VERY diverse.

Provide the market and submarket highlights, incomes, population growth, job growth, rent growth, economic diversity, major employers, etc.Best of luck.