I have a client that bought a condo to rent after living there and the HOA ended up outlawing rentals.

Some of the best investments can be found in neighborhoods where you may not want to live, but the numbers support it! 

if you buy it yourself and turn it into a live in flip and absolutely crush it, great! 

One unvetted thought I’ve had for when I go live is to give VRBO a 1-2 week head start on our listing.

I buy and hold and do short term rentals and mid term rentals.Located in Racine Wisconsin  Hello Gabriel: I also live in Racine County there are some great deals our way and including southern milwaukee county too!   

I am putting in a link to something that may be help, a cost of living comparison calculator (https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/cost-of-living-calculat...). 

Quote from @Juan Perez: Greetings,My first home was paid off over a year ago, and I am now living in my recently purchased 2nd home.

Living in top unit and renting out the bottom.

Quote from @Laura Yelin: Hello BP'sI like Sherman...I lived there for about 3 years many years ago and still sell and rent there.It's a slow wealth building market in my opinion, not get rich quick.Mostly blue collar stable town.

Where you live in relation to the investment property shouldn't matter.