Very excited to enjoy the culture down there and start our investing journey as well.Ill check out the blog for sure, we are hoping to get a duplex / quad as our live-in home so we can negate the primary mortgage, that will be our first step once we settle on an area is finding a good first property.

Should local communities/cities be able to have the right to determine their own housing policies, what protections they offer their residents, and what works best in their specific economic, housing, political, cultural, and social context?

I worked for a behemouth bank and I know the corporate culture very well.

Thanks Melissa,I've always worked with smaller companies and like the team culture.

Petersburg might be an interesting place to look at- there are tons of local REI that are investing there, high rental demand, lots of interesting nightlife and cultural stuff, and I think more of a young scene.

I echo the others on screening guests for cultural fit.

Somehow OKC got all the growth but Tulsa is so much prettier with 10 times the culture

What else should I do to start building my network, to learn the local RE culture and market there?

Before you know it you will understand the values in that area better than most agents.Create a commercial checking account with a credit line.Attend every public auction in your area, bid on none but study the process, look at the property and play a game - guess what the high bid might beMake friends with new real estate agents (new only---- they haven't been polluted by negative comments and attitudes by older agents.)Ask your agents to send you list of expired listings (give them money for their services, like a thank you $100.00 bill) Understand the Law of Universal Prosperity.)Run classified ads in your local news papers --WANTED All real estate, commercial, houses and non-conforming properties, family business call 555-555-5555 for a fast no fee offer.Call me if you need a partner.Have fun while learning, don't take this business too seriouslyDon't make offers on real estate, make them on the equity that the real estate can offerAlways negotiate for the equityGet a real estate license, not to be an agent, but to understand the culture of the business, to have access to the MLS and to meet some nice folksFarm an area - drive around, look for FSBO's, agent's signs, ugly houses, put them in your journal to call laterCreate a little flyer to put on super market's bulletin boardsAsk 10 people a day this questions; "would you know of anyone who would like to sell their real estate?"

Here, most of my work is on contemporary coastal development.