That mess will never be paid off, it will just be part of our growing debt.I am not advocating putting your head in the sand or acting irresponsible, but you should never root against the home team.Regardless of your politics, 4% GDP is awesome.  

I will move out of the Bay Area to plant deeper roots into a community where I see myself living for the next 10+ years (I’ve had my eye on Denver for about 3 years).

But, you never know when a tree root will plow through your septic system or water line.

I'm exhausted just after writing it, and frankly, I'm absolutely looking forward to finally planting roots and settling down here in LA.

Many great cultural roots here.

I was born and raised here too and chose to stick to my roots and work/invest here as well, good choice!

The response rate is something like the square root of 12. 

Ask lots of questions to get information from sellers, really dig for the root of why they need to sell.

Unfortunately, I am up to my neck in student loan debt - however, my dad offered me a position this November making $100k+ guaranteed...but it would require me to move 8 hours away from my wife and our friends and the place I am establishing my roots for our future.In your experience, would you recommend I do this for a year or two, pay off our debt and get some capital in the bank BEFORE I begin investing?

What's the root cause for them paying late each month?