The diversity in employers is amazing and it leads to that stability. 

I like the added diversity in having a rental, and want to do more.  

It's a very diverse state. 

Location Investment criteria> 50,000Near Walmart, Lowe’s close driving distanceUnemployment < 8 %Median household cost > 100,000 so you are not competing with stick built homesPopulation growing, stable, not significantly declining Great School district Crime rate not crazy Job diversity: call chamber of commerce, new jobs/employersPlanning and zoning figure out what type of zoning you have what you can and cannot do.

The population will grow by 100 million to 440 million by 2050.More Diverse.

Or would you rather live in a modest community where you get a diverse, genuine people who help each other?

We also got started in renting out our home when we were transferred and the bug bit us.You will love the diverse community and all the resources.

My thought is that a four-plex would be small enough to learn the ropes and diverse enough to not lose a lot when 1 of the units is empty.  

Columbus, Ohio as a market is very diverse and not concentrated to one or two economic drivers. 

Too much diversity here and the economy is strong, but like one poster said you will need to drive a lot to look at properties.