First I would call the town and ask for the STR requirements.

If it’s in a great part of town, these generally tend to not be the best from a cash flow perspective. 

My wife and I own a beautiful historic home in a small, charming town in Northern Virginia.

They love having the short-term rental properties since that gives them a spot to stay while they're in town! 

College towns are great options for investment properties.

While there are fewer native Austinites left, if you find them—especially older residents—they can be an invaluable resource for inside information.Get involved locally: Once the tourists and college students leave for summer or holidays, you’ll realize Austin is still a small town at heart.

I am also from the B/CS area and have some investment properties in town.

Location says Ann Arbor but we are in a smaller town west of there. 

And yeah Marquette, MI is an appreciating market and a college town where everyone complains about increasing rents (and their bad landlords).Hopefully I can still find a few properties that can cash flow anything, no matter how small, with zero down but I'll have to see if they'll pass VA inspection too.

Its just a really small town and very few towns nearby.