I personally recommend looking into the Columbus OH market.

I started house hacking in Columbus, Ohio, back in 2020.

Cleveland is a solid market, I also like a similar market of Dayton, OH which is 50 minutes outside of Columbus and has similar cash flow with more landlord friendly laws.

Since you're planning to buy your first multifamily unit, I suggest looking into markets that have great macroeconomics with growing population and jobs just like Columbus OH.

If you're looking for appreciation, Columbus is the place for you, with appreciation rates generally between 7-17%.

I'd like to invest back home in Ohio eventually (I lived in both Columbus and Dayton for about 5 years each), but I'm much more comfortable starting with something I can see regularly. 

I am looking into renting out a duplex in Columbus through section 8.

Columbus, OH is landlord friendly and the term "landlord rights" is a real thing. 

I do that as well. try real estate land development entitlement or getting involved in ground up new construction on infill lots as a partner. the returns are higher than all of these. all cash IRRs are 40%+ to the partners we work with in columbus and levered returns are greater than 100% cash on cash return. that's with us making our cut as well. 

Cities like Columbus and Cleveland are thriving and might offer some promising prospects.