Most large metro areas will have deals in an hours drive, find a place you are comfortable with that has upward trajectory (jobs, population growth, market phase), build your core four and rock it! 

A few key highlights are:-A key indicator to determine the best cities to invest in and where to expect the most growth is the recovery of the business services jobs, (services related to operating a business like accountants, lawyers, cleaning jobs, IT)- The faster jobs in business services pick up, the more likely a market will be a good long-term bet for real estate investors-San Antonio made the list for one of the top cities for business services job growth!

Columbus OH is a perfect example of that lots of people have been moving towards investing out-of-state in Columbus because of the population growth and job opportunities.

Great market with strong population growth.

The city wasn't prepared for explosive growth like this from a development and permitting standpoint, so if you want to see the failed projects, or see it as continued low demand, the most important is to remember that developing in Austin is very different than developing in Texas in general.  

Subscribe to the local newspapers and business journals.I can tell you as a broker and real estate investor in a strong southeastern growth market like Greenville SC, I get lots of calls from out of state investors.

Certainly has been a lot of growth in that particular region of the Austin MSA.  

That's a sign of economic and population growth, which as in investor is ideal for cash flow/appreciation.

I'm still doing this manually, which is motivating me to find a way to automate the task :)

97% occupancy rates, strong rent growth, general appreciation, it's just a good place to be investing.