I have 2 rental coops which I purchased after the crash...and recently purchased a house in PA...for turning over a 380sf 1BR in NYC I got a quote for $1700 (grout and paint)...while in PA I got $4800 for a 2000 sf 5BR house...In NYC with that money you are a little fish and it is even hard to find contractors to come give you a quote...in general knowing what I know now I would go to PA, Upstate or the Midwest if I could do it again.Another factor...as mentioned by other is that with this money you are mostly limited to coops...It is quite hard to find those which allow subletting and for many of those it is even harder to get financing.Management is another issue that have to be considered as all co-ops (and many condos) will demand to approve your tenants causing unnecessary delays whenever there is a turnover.   

Check out JG real estate in fish town.

Join Jaxreia, it's some of the best money you'll ever spend in real estate2nd, go to FB and join "Yellowbird Connect"  It's the most active group about Jax real estate and many events are advertised there3rd - come to Whitey's Fish Camp on Tue, June 27th 11:30am for our monthly meetup. 

What the contractor is fishing for is a change order. 

The intent was where were likely places to go fishing and then do your real diligence.

I'm interested in a city with a lot of outdoor activities (mountain biking, camping, fishing, etc.) and other things to do (I'm 25 and single, so looking for a place that's easy to meet people my age), that also has affordable housing that I can actually buy. 

If he likes to fish, and you find out that he wants to use the down payment money to buy a boat, you can offer him a used fishing boat and get credit for that as a down payment. 

There are a lot of fish in the sea.

A good electrician can fish wires through walls and cut holes or groves where neededI would also think $1-1.5K for a new panel box.

In terms of amenities and things to do - Florence takes the crown here with the dunes, restaurants, fishing, hiking, etc.