Trust me, I have been there.I suggest you try to House hack in cities that you are already familiar with and have some connection with.Hire a great investor agent in that market and ask them all your questions and concerns.That I believe is the best way to get personalized advice tailored to your goals and lifestyle.You giving out Cleeveland and Toledo on your post will only attract biased opinions and advise.Only you know what you truly like, want, and can deal with.As Nicolas said, read this post and comments and hope that gives you a new perspective. https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/1215726-break...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-expe...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-balti...Goodluck and keep us posted.

@Venecia BaezHouse hacking is absolutely the best way to get started in RE investing (in my bias opinion). 

I may be biased (that's close to where i'm from), but that is one of the fastest growing markets with tons of demand and development PLUS even cash flow potential.

In my opinion (I'm definitely bias now, but invested here long before becoming an agent) people are still sleeping on the area with the proximity to Northern CA. 

I’m obvi biased, but Denver is a very friendly sunny city with world class skiing, mountain biking, hiking, etc.

Atleast be upfront with people on it as your opinion is clearly bias.

As we have an accounting firm, note I am a bit biased, but here is what I see folks have the most success do: You should start with an accountant who is very familiar with your investment strategy and grow with them until you cant anymore.

@Todd Nguyen - while I'm biased, I think we have a solid product in California with good pricing and coverage, and it's still fairly available across the state (unlike the other carriers that are unfortunately leaving).

Yep for one especially in the early stages a hard credit pull would not be useful, just have them do soft checks for the time being and opt out of credit solicitation: www.optoutprescreen.com I could be biased... that said typically working with one lender than can help regardless of where you're looking and having a relationship with that will provide the easiest and most cost effective route long term. 

Granted, I'm bias so take my opinion with a grain of salt.