After that I moved to Colorado to manage the investment and I started purchasing shares and eventually paid off the remaining investors at 100% of their investment. 

We were both born/raised in the area and my family still lives there so long term we will eventually move back ourselves. 2.

In a matter of fact I can say pretty confidently that most SFR eventually would cash flow.

It is close to the downtown area but the majority of area is bigger lots and on the other side of a prominent hill that gives it a more out in the country feelFoothills is the most exclusive areas with higher price points and lots of upper end shopping and diningMarana and Oro Valley are the newer "suburban" areas of Tucson that have the laid back walking and biking paths, golf clubs, snow bird / retiree type activities that draw visitors in and then get hooked and eventually buy homesIf you haven't tried Tucson yet, there is quite the variety and with snowbirds leaving, there are plenty of current STR's ready to host you as the summer warms up. 

My goal is to create generational wealth for my family and to eventually have the financial freedom to say "yes" to travel adventures as a family.

For some reason real estate is viewed as an income supplement and eventually income replacement by most who become interested in investing.

Also how do folks feel about Real Estate buyers who aren't investing for maximum Cash-flow, but instead investing for long-term equity, appreciation, and eventual cash-flow?

The most likely scenario is that his renters will eventually do something that costs him a significant loss, despite cutting them a major break for so long. 

Would California still try to collect capital gains after changing the property to primary residence using Safe Harbor, living in the property for more than 2 years, and then selling the property eventually? 

The market was very favorable from 2012-2021 for this type of thing, but eventually I would think the house of cards they have built will fall down (probably starting now as I saw they have recently tried to sell some projects off at prices that nobody would ever pay, including one of my buildings they bought for way too much, which is still worth less than than they paid for it but they are asking way, way more).