I lived in a college town and student rentals did very well as did STRs for parents coming in to visit their children.  

I suppose I could combine the two ideas and live in a basement while renting out a 2 bedroom home to a traveling agency. 

But it’s clear you’re a smart investor who knows the long-term benefits real estate can bring.I keep reminding myself why I stick with real estate: you can make money every month in four different ways:Cash Flow – Passive income to live on.Appreciation – Long-term property value growth.Depreciation – Tax benefits that reduce your taxable income.Tenants Paying Down the Mortgage – Even if you’re paid off now, this is one of the biggest wealth-building tools for leveraged properties.It sounds like your main struggle is the stress of active management—and trust me, you’re not alone.

If you are living there, then you need to weigh the benefits of having a home, as oppose to renting somewhere else.

These communities cater to renters who value suburban living but can’t or won’t buy a home.

Class C transitioning to Class B: more renovated homes, higher income tenants and homeowners moving in, nice cafes, shops, restaurants, coffee shops opening up.An extreme example of Class C to B is in San Francisco - when I was a kid, what was not a safe neighborhood and had lower income people, is now in high demand and tech workers making $200,000+ are living there and people walking around at night going to restaurants and shop. 

They may have a question and ask what the average utility is and I'm very clear that it depends on use but I would always have a cap even if it's 1k to protect yourself if someone likes to live like they're in Antartica during the summertime :)

I could be wrong but I thought I saw that Sacramento requires primary residence for the owner for STR.Do you live in Sacramento or nearby ?

As a person who has lived most of my life in metro Detroit, all I will say is be very, very careful. 

As it stands now, the sweet spot in that area in the market for rent seems to be a little larger 2/2 house with large living area for guests.