While 170k is the price of homes right where you are at, start looking in the same place the guy who makes 40k as a teacher who wants to live near you would look to buy his first home.

SchoolsOn top of having good public schools for our kids to attend, my wife used to be a teacher and is currently an assistant principle, so a state/municipality that values our educators in terms of how they treat and compensate them is also important for usBoth the Tampa and Fort Myers areas are relatively affordable, Hawaii ...yeah, not so much, but I believe we can overcome that obstacle (more on that below).

Again, renovations are their own animal, and experience is the best teacher.  

I know some schools have professional real estate teachers.

Experience will be your true teacher.

I guess the challenge is in finding the right teacher. 

We also arranged a deal to swap out our construction truck for a new model, trained a novice builder friend how to get a demolition permit for his first project, and attended parent teacher interviews for both kids.

I've kept in touch with a HS teacher for 13 years and it wasn't until last year that I found out she owns rental properties in different states!

He and his wife work for a school district but they are classified (not teachers or principals). 

My name is Andrea and I'm a 9th grade English teacher at a low-income high school in Oakland, CA.