I would recommend looking inland and stay ahead of the curve, maybe areas like Lakeland that has really gained traction in the last couple of years, much more affordable and still lots of land (not landlocked by an ocean...)

I have a fully rebuilt 3/2 in oceanside close to the ocean with all utilities run to the back yard (ready for an ADU and JADU if you want).

We would love to live by the ocean, but it is pricey.

The agent in Raleigh pointed out that the jobs coming into Columbus, in particular at the 20B chip plant would likely be more blue collar jobs vs. the higher paid tech work that is entering into Raleigh, which I believe she said was growing by 5,000 residents per...month? 

Blue Chip Apartment How did you finance this deal?

Furthermore to address your other comments, you can do white collar work but not blue collar work   Hiring somebody to swing the hammer is ok, you cannot swing the hammer yourself.  

check out ocean lakes resort myrtle beach sc, you can get into a lot of properties for 600-800k stilt beach home-4 -5 bed with a 70-90k gross revenue. great rental area, has no str restrictions and is 318 acres gated and secured straight to the ocean.

Blue Chip Apartment How did you finance this deal?

As we are almost empty-nesters we are moving to Savannah to grow our portfolio in the warmer weather and closer to the ocean.

Some were Los Angeles transplants looking for cheap(er) rent and some were just blue collar Craigslist randoms.