I have a few books on the way to help me; "Rich Dad Poor Dad," "Building Wealth One House at a Time: Making It Big on Little Deals," "The Book on Investing in Real Estate with no (and Low) Money Down," and "Recession Proof Real Estate Investing: How to survive and Thrive in any Phase of Economic Cycle."

The town thrives on tourism. 

Now, you simply have to work on the other elements to progress your REI pursuit.Ok, now that you have taken your initial step, below are some quick links to get engaged. http://www.biggerpockets.com/startherehttp://www.biggerpockets.com/meet Setting up Keyword Alerts How to Use @Mentions on BiggerPockets Lastly, this site thrives on interactions and as such we encourage two way exchanges and look forward to educational and thought provoking ideas relevant to REI.

Some people thrive on marketing, research, and developing systems.  

There is a thriving military community so that brings some stability for rentals etc.

If so you might be better partnering with someone.I think many people put too much faith and expectations on property managers.They are getting a measly return for handling a ton of problems,paperwork,and headaches.So unless they thrive on that many will feel used and non-motivated over the long term.I own some apartments and I would never do property management for others.It takes up a ton of time.I put the time into ones I own because I get a huge ongoing payoff with cash flow and with future returns.Due diligence and buying right is critical.I wait for the right opportunities and pass on many so called DEALS.Other investors I have studied over the years went through many NO's before getting an excellent deal.Over 5 to 10 years they built a very nice portfolio of properties with awesome returns.The problem with many investors is they make mistakes and get frustrated and make bad decisions to just "get in the game".If they just would have waited a few more months the right deal would have come along but instead are now stuck in a bad deal they will be waiting years to come to get rid of.

A strong mind cannot thrive within a weak body. 

Many young people will stay in the area of their college if there are good jobs and a good place to start a family)   c)RTP (Research Triangle Park is a thriving technology hub in Raleigh offering good paying jobs in the technology industry.....as I think technology will play a bigger role in the future of our economy)   d)Population Growth.  

See the pattern, there is more to a thriving culture than productivity - though time erodes the thought of the need for anything else - which, without significant "Revival" will collapse any culture no matter the strength.Do you not see it?

True conservatives believe that the government should maintain both a thriving economy, and an optimum society that both allows and encourages self reliance, independence, education, and hard work leading to massive success.