I haven't seen any monumental shifts in the change in trends talked about here. 

In the new state where you intend to invest, research real estate valuations, trends, and neighborhoods.

My worry is that my parents have a very high standard of living and it could force me into buying a more expensive house than I want, or that I could be buying a house that's not really tailored to my long term investment goals (for example my mom really wants a pool but I don't want to buy a rental with a pool because I know future renters wont take care of it etc) My gf is a little house crazy right now too so shes obviously pushing for very expensive forevor home to live in and I don't necessarily want to buy a forevor home (at least not right now) I want a great investment opportunity. 

If appreciation is your play, just know you’re betting on future market growth, which isn’t guaranteed.

It could also future-proof your investment, as demand for larger homes may continue growing.

We are looking at the compound asset acquisition and also using the short term rental loophole for our future properties and likely moving my wife into the real estate professional position while I remain at my W2 position.To sum it up, I would like to know what higher income W2 earners are doing in order to help offset their W2 taxes or if there is a way? 

I'minspired and always on the lookout for new ideas, trends, and success stories.

They may miss out on future gains if the neighborhood continues to increase in value.

Home price appreciation is still trending up, but cashflowing rentals are difficult to find for the most part.

I'm making some life changes to set my family up for a better future.