Really wish we would have learned how to better utilize buying real estate and finance and how life changing it can be.

Welcome to BP - what strategy are you looking to pursue for your first real estate investment?

Your VA loan will be crucial to your real estate investing growth, especially since it affords you the potential opportunity to own more than one property, depending on your overall allotment.For active military personnel, that conundrum of where to invest and where you will end up is always part of the issue that sometimes causes analysis paralysis so it's great you have one in VA Beach already.

Would it be a good idea to get a real estate license and work in real estate or are there other options to get in Missouri to get real estate experience without a license? 

Anybody who wants to know the real ROI and occupancy figures can check on Airdna.

The projected growth in the local population and economy creates a fertile ground for both residential and commercial real estate development and acquisition.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

During this journey, I discovered the world of house flipping and real estate investing in the U.S.

If you want to acquire more real estate I suggest more savings or sell the other property with equity. 

As far as meetups go, you can find a lot of local events posted here on BiggerPockets: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-real-estate-events-...I also have a list of Chicago meetups that I can share with you as well.