It is hard to really keep up with those kinds of trends unless I budget 10k a year in updating the property which I am not going to do.I participate in our local council/mayor meetings.

.• Networking & Local Groups:Engaging with local wholesalers and real estate investment associations can also lead to referrals for quality data sources.

If you wish to network or ask specific questions about your local market, you can go to your local real estate forum and discuss with investors from your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/86-local-real-estate-networking 5.

I'm curious as to how this has affected everyone's local market.

HUDuser.org is great for vacancy rates, but cross-referencing with local market reports is important for more context.For job diversity and employers, LinkedIn or regional economic development websites often provide insights.

To be honest, I´m in the Maintenance & Construction for corporate businesses for some US companies in Mexico and we do some Real Estate down here also, but it´s way much different than the US, so I have much to learn from a lot of people around here and as @Julio Gonzalez, I think this is pretty much the right pad and place to start and to break my fears to start all over again from scratchAlso, I´ld like to hear more from @Justin Brickman why he voted for his city, pros and cons, it will help to read from a local...As I said before, thank you all guys for taking the time to write in this post and share some experienceDo you plan to owner occupy. $40k will not get you a non owner occupied San Diego property unless you find some unlikely alternate financing.

I would visit local meetups for real estate investing, and also network with agents in your area that work with a lot of investors.

@Audrey Sommer I prefer investing in my local market (Snohomish County).

I still attend local meet ups and talk to dozens of investors and am considering other strategies like Mid-Term Rentals or rent by the room. 

The PM will also fix things when needed, using local handymen or contractors, and collect the rent for you.