What most investors around the country don't know is that area has been through cycles of revitalization and depression, and was as of recent in a revitalization cycle, this could catapult it back significantly, that's my #1 fear and uncertainty. 

The Great Depression and the Financial Crisis. 

I want to enter the RE game very soon because during the 2008 crisis, many millionaires were made, and I don’t want to miss out during the worst one since the Great Depression.

How do I find a 'good deal' in such a depressed area?

But I'm not sure if this is going to de-value SFHs because a glut of new housing would be coming online and thus depressing rents, or if it would increase the value of SFHs because they would become a scarce commodity.

It has a few manufacturing facilities and a college but overall it seems like not a lot is happening there and it is fairly depressing.

I looked at getting a rental in Philly and the list of things a property owner has to do to get a license is depressing.

I know AirBnB was started during a recession time, 2008, and many people turn to short term rentals for cheaper/more frugal traveling already but the number of people traveling also drops significantly during depressions.

If we enter a recession/depression, where do you think interest rates would be?

This is what happened during the great depression, people bought stock on margin but the loans were 90% of the purchase so with 10k you could buy 100k of stock, then the stock doubled and you can use that equity to buy more.