I think it actually matters more of the distance from your primary, but I would definitely talk to an investor-friendly lender to see their thoughts. https://www.biggerpockets.com/business/finder/lenders

Sorry for taking so long, but I've been having my own growing pains.One of the things we're not really looking closely at is the hyperlocality of Pittsburgh, a fundamental understanding of the unusual nature of this place and how, through insularity and other factors, it tends to punish long-distance investors.

Being as close as you can get to the ski slopes without touching your face to the snow, the 7 minute distance is among the best.

I have had several friends suggest that it would be wiser to start off with rentals within driving distance of where I live. 

I'm also considering moving out of the USA if I'm unable to find a state with a lower cost of living and less stress (commute, crowds of people, high taxes, etc) than California.  

Thank you for the input, I will measure the distance from the window sill to the third floor carpet, it's pretty low, let me see if I can attach pictures.

In Northern NJ, to make 100k, your buy-in price would be around 600k or more.Haven't done any, but I wanted to choose somewhere with a 1hr commute radius so I can keep monitoring it.

I've invested both locally and long distance (over 2000 miles away).

@Dan KielySugar Land and Katy are family-friendly suburbs with good schools, a strong job market, and a safe environment, but have higher property taxes and commute times.

As an added bonus tenants like to complain about what is wrong with a property, and sometimes the landlord doesn't know about the things they mention especially if they are long distance and have a PM.