I only track the mileage driving to specific properties.

It's good you have a goal and using that goal to drive your decisions at each step will guide you. 

unless you have some kind of advantage, or creative strategy, or both (boots on the ground, sourcing quality off market deals, MTR or STR, house hacking, etc.) there is really no market where you can get a few hundred plus in cash flow with current off the shelf rates.you should 10000000000000000000% not buy a random property in Memphis because an Excel sheet tells you you will make $212 a month on it.if you want to go to Memphis and spend a few weeks there, drive around, meet PMs and other investors, and really lean in - go for it. 

Just curious, would you pay for a Driving for Dollars list in your desired zipcode or a boots-on-the-ground person?

I am torn between 3 locations: Jacksonville, FL (it's still FL and a drive/quick flight away), Baltimore, MD (we used to live in MD and it's familiar), Midwest: Columbus, Detroit, ???

My wife offered to drive some over, but they found them by then.My wife responded to the new complaint and said that she wished our guest had mentioned any of this during their stay so we could have addressed these concerns.

This particular strategy was personally told to me by Jimmy while we were driving from Phoenix to Las Vegas in the early 1980s to attend a real estate exchangers conference and exchange session.   

While opinions may vary, I rely on data to help drive real estate decisions and planning.Key ConsiderationsEducational Attainment: 77008 boasts higher numbers of residents with bachelor's (12,241) and master's degrees (5,739) compared to 77063.Demographics: 77063 has a higher percentage of foreign-born residents (41.02%) which typically indicates a strong rental market and with 76.86% renter-occupied versus 32.60% in 77008.Economic Factors: Median income in 77008 is $140,609 with a low unemployment rate of 3.37%, whereas 77063 shows lower median income ($51,899), higher unemployment (9.99%), and more families below the poverty level (16.51%), which may indicate economic diversity but also potential rental payment risks​​.Age Distribution: 77008 has more middle-aged residents (35-54) [8970 compared to 6,115] and a slightly higher proportion of young adults (25-34) compared to 77063 but both are popular with younger adults suggesting strong rental markets equally exist.

Quote from @Nicholas Petrozzi: Nobody can answer that without knowing your finances, your skills, your drive for success, and 82 other factors that can't be discerned from your post.I can tell you that you shouldn't set your bar too high or make things too complicated.

1) House hack or buy within a 2 hour drive.