The idea of financial freedom and our goal of retiring by 35 has never seemed more exciting and attainable (We are currently 26 and 24).

Something happens in the ego department of their brains after they attain their JD's is all I can figure, that tells them they already know everything, and whatever they say or think must be right.Carry on, though.  

If you lower a few things your numbers will be attainable and more realistic.

They're geared towards getting everyone excited and they make it sound as though that money is so attainable for the sake of justifying the cost of whatever they're selling. 

It’s the 3rd and 4th years that’s the business really picks up and you can start leveraging your experience, equity and your established real estate connections to start scaling your business to attain financial freedom.If you are willing to dedicate 5 years to this business and have patience while trusting the process and taking action you can retire within 3-5 years in most cases and if you choose to be less active you could still retire within 5-10 years which at 40 years old is still going to give you the opportunity to retire at 45-50 years old and get off that salary treadmill that so many people are saved to.Great job on asking such an important question!

I think you nailed it: how well can I provide direction and measurable and attainable objectives.

@Stephen Brown that's definitely attainable !

I don’t know any other way to attain what I want.

This info will give you a decent idea of what to expect and help filter down your search to a few cities.Some of the metrics that I find valuable to understand are:- Population - Home Values- Household Incomes- Rental Vacancy Rate- Homeowner Vacancy Rate- Poverty Rate- Educational Attainment Rate (High School/GED & Bachelors)- Number of Housing Unit- Rent to Income Ratio- Rent to Price Ratio- Population on SNAPS (supplemental nutrition assistance program) percentage- Property Tax Rate- Median Age of Buildings- Number of Structures by Units (SFR, Duplex, Triplex, Quadplex, etc...)- Median Rents by Number of Bedrooms- Unemployment Rate- Employment Sectors Percentages These are just some of the indicators that will help you understand the quality of an area as well as the kinds of returns one is to except.

I simply argue that 100% is not an attainable goal, given the restrictions.