But Detroit might still be the place to go today if you want to buy real estate at rock-bottom prices.According to the book Investing the Templeton Way, people who bought farmland on the courthouse steps at the depth of The Great Depression for the 50 cents of back taxes the farmer couldn't afford to pay made out well in the decades after The Great Depression.

We installed new carpets & doors & it rented for $675 but the kitchen was a depressing circa 1970's.

These folks built property EMPIRES under very adverse conditions (WWI, WWII, Great Depression etc).The point is, folks came here with limited money, few connections, an unfamiliar environment, a shaky grasp on the language, and sometimes, not much education, and in most cases, limited real estate knowledge. 

I live in a rural, economically depressed area, and I am unsure how much success that I will find here locally.

Without these things I find myself slipping into lethargy and depression like symptoms.  

On the other hand, I also wonder if purchasing a property nearly before a recession is unwise given depreciation could potentially outweigh equity put in the property in addition to the opportunity cost of waiting longer until housing prices depress over time through a recession.

But I would invest in STRs in a depressed municipality that has one large employer that utilizes travelling contractors. 

Labor and material out here in CA is depressing.  

These areas are typically lower rent and harder to rent due larger rent market in the area and generally more "depressed" areas.

This was also part of why they chose to leave western Pennsylvania and go places where the job markets were better in their fields, leaving the parents behind in the family home.Sooner or later, the house ends up empty and in the hands of the far-off kids, who with depressing frequency get the bright idea to run it as a rental.