If there is a “recession” or “depression,” the dilemma for me is to buy up cheap real estate, or retain that $ for operating income in case people can’t pay rent....?

For example, my grandmother was a depression baby.  

PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other illnesses are diagnosed with minimal evaluation and then no treatment or expectation of improvement. 

@Lucas Carl The only tenant I ever had that rose to that level of crazy was NPD (narcissistic personality disorder); he actually told me that-- and I believe it because he had all the symptoms.

They were old-school depression babies and did most of their own maintenance even though they were in their 70's and 80's.They were soft-hearted with tenants and the tenants learned to go around me when they thought I'd say no (like little kids) and waylay the brothers in the parking lot when they'd show up on a Saturday morning, to get the "owner" to agree to something instead of asking me first. 

I think the way around that is to just advertise that this is the rent for non-pet owners, and this is the rent for pet owners, and if I find out you have a pet, the rent agreement would say that both parties agree that it will be assumed that the pet was there from day one, and the higher rent would be owed back to the beginning of the lease.Either way, tenants will try to sneak in pets.The owner I worked for would come on weekends and haul off garbage to another of his properties that had a big dumpster - he was too cheap to pay for twice a week garbage pickup (depression baby). 

I sincerely believe that grey is over and done and considered to be depressing, and already as outdated as avocado green.

You can go by median household salary , I think its $80k, so what ever top 30% is in OC that a good indicator.Last crash was due to the load process and people claiming to make what they didnt really make, it was the same thing that  led to Great Depression, the loan process has changed, so this correction is going to be town buying), or an unemployment crisis.

It's like my grandparents who lived through the depression so they wouldn't even throw away a newspaper.

Town is depressed (slowly coming back) has a population of circa 50K and is a working class town.