YES, we may be a little biased, but check out our blog here on BP comparing Detroit to other cities and Deep Dives on Metro Detroit cities & neighborhoods: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...Your biggest question shouldn't be WHERE to invest, but HOW you will invest!

It seems from some of the responses there is a bias toward not posting on a topic again for fear of being pointed to another thread.

ThanksA lot of the senior head honchos at BP have experiences that bias them towards the midwest.

Sorry bias since I am a Broker in Sacramento.

Of course, I'm the CEO of a turnkey operation, so I may be biased, but I think you'll find the same answer from experienced investors here on BP given your current situation.Given that you have $50k, you could potentially leverage that into a couple good cash flow props in markets here in the South or in the Midwest.

Often those in academia can have a bias towards more scholarly pursuits and so they may view the manager of a REIT with greater prestige than a local agent or flipper.

I'm sure there is bias but at least you can get an overview of some of the plans:http://www.personalincome.org/self-directed-ira-cu...http://www.thehardmoneypros.com/self_directed_ira_...http://selfdirectedira.nuwireinvestor.com/list-of-...There are other BP threads on this topic.

I plan to take my Dad the first round who doesn't even know the guy and then also do a proper 3rd party home inspection as well to eliminate any friendship bias.

Do I have to worry about mixing genders? 

Definitely the first to admit I'm biased, after all, I'm only responding to places that have injured people.