My realtor says that's pretty doable more west than Northern NJ and also in parts of South Jersey.  

The employees that have families I think are likely to end up in good school districts in Arlington, parts of Alexandria, Springfield, Rockville, Bethesda, Potomac (primarily west of 355 in Maryland except where the Walter Johnson district stretches east of 355), Fairfax, Falls Church, a bit into Reston/Herndon.

Along with the spots at Punta Horcones, there is a decent beachbreak in front of Hotel Playa Cambutal, and a pointbreak that sits six miles to the west.

You might try looking at smaller schools or in the mid-west where prices tend to be more reasonable. 

I'm seeing clients every day on the West and East coasts reporting 2-3% returns on the value of their asset.  

I feel like I should go more west to PA....

@John West  Yes, any loan you take out is going to report the full amount owed on your credit, even if it's a joint account. 

Thanks for the info @Lakendrick West!

this is highly regional ... for those responding that live in markets with no real historic appreciation or values have actually fallen since the peaks of the 90s.. there is no reason to buy anything that does not cash flow.. who wants the risk and stress of landlording if there is no real appreciation upside.as to Steve's comments on IRR that to me is the metric.. i have bought almost all my west coast properties that were break even to negative and once i exit.. the IRR far exceeds anything i could have gotten with a non appreciating " cash flow property".. 

If I go about 60 minutes west of where I live property prices drop to about $40k-$60k for places that need some work done (ARV $90k-$110k).