The scenario is this....Purchased a condo in Manhattan in 2006, it served as our primary residence until October 2014.Since October 2014, we have been renting it out. 

I looked up the apt building I live in in NYC (Manhattan - East Village). 

Also, Manhattan and the tri state area is so expansive I don't know if for a beginner with small capital if its an ideal place to start. 

In your area, I particularly like the FIBI Pasadena club as well as the LAREIA in Arcadia, but there are many others slightly further from you including FIBI Manhattan Beach and FIBI Long Beach, which are also good and with no sales pitches allowed whatsoever.

However, the locatin of the property is great, only a 15-20 minute bus ride to Manhattan, a close walk to Hoboken or the light rail.

For those of you who are seasoned investors in Manhattan, do you guys love it or would you rather invest elsewhere?

Was once a more prominent place when agriculture and oil/gas industries employed more rural folks, there were more family farms etc but  just like the countless other hundreds of small towns in KS it is likely dying a slow death.If you want to invest in KS - I think being an out of stater you'd have better luck sticking to larger population centers such as Garden City, Dodge City, El Dorado, Lawrence, Manhattan, Wichita area, Hutchinson, etc etc - I'm not a big fan of Wal Mart - but find places with a Dillons Grocery Store (part of the Kroger family) or Wal Mart in town - those are your larger population centers here that will be a bit more sustainable and have more opportunity than a dying rural town with no industry.Same thing would likely apply in Nebraska, OK and I'd assume other plains states - if you can find a Wal Mart and a large major chain Grocery store in town, they've done most of the market study for you already proving there is something sustainable there.  

I got the idea through a NY Times story a few years back.An airline was stuck with an expensive office lease in mid-town manhattan.

I would favor New Jersey over New York, properties are less expensive, close proximity to Manhattan, cash flows, you might qualify for 15K grant that can be applied towards downpayment & closing (assuming you are a first time home buyer), AND NJ is LANDLORD friendly vs New York (NY is Tenant friendly state); We focus on Newark/Irvington/East Orange (Newark is favorite, lots of things are happening there), we assist buyers with purchasing 3-4 family - our niche. 

Im looking for similar properties in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens with 3 different models depending on price, site and Location for resale.