None of the current tenants in 1 br have any children living with them, some have grown children living elsewhere.A fellow landlord that I know only has 1 bedroom units, he even has 1 bedroom 2 story townhouses that easily could be 2 bedrooms and maybe in some cases 3 bedrooms. 

Market has grown in general which is bringing new population in. 

Questions contact me or @Paul Choate (No gurus or product pitches allowed.)4th Tuesday @ noon of every month - REI Luncheon at Dot Woh Garden in OKC but follow @Paul Choat because it has grown so big that it may need to be moved!

How do those that invest in new cities without having grown up, lived in, or in some cases even visited, find justification in their investments?

I'm also more familiar with Columbus, having grown up in the suburbs.

Is there garbage all over, is grass over grown, etc.Check proximity to schools.

Absolutely...I have friends who cry about having to 'help' pay off their grown kids student loans & the majority exceed the $35,000 chump change these fools paid.The best was a wedding we were attending where the father handed off the daughters student loans to the groom.

We continue to invest in properties all the time and keep a good track record both with owners and driving investments to their max... but our philosophy has defensively grown to what it currently is now...

I am now there and I my 200K down payment has grown exponentially, the mortgages are paid off, and I have cash flow and million more in equity than I could have gotten out of state.

Also many of these markets have grown much more competitive as shadow inventory has dried up, so there are additional challenges to those just starting out in a market.