Then a couple weeks later a friend and I were talking about the drudgery of my work commute (over an hour each way) and he suggested I listen to podcasts while driving.

Just curious about any thoughts or ideas about starting out long distance (between 2-5 hour drive) and any ideas on which markets I should look into.

Winchester is still within commuting distance and yet is much more accessible for first time investors.  

An additional way to distance your name from the properties is to utilize your corporation's and LLC's EIN to file the paperwork for all of your additional LLC's you choose to open. 

I never visited that area but know and visited near that area, i know that the area is a moderate to high crime area. and i also know that for that area they do maintain consistent blue collar/factory type jobs. so as a rental area i think from what i have learned thus far, is that this is a good rental area barring the crime. where i choked was the distance, and started thinking how will i maintain it from a distance.my questions i guess would be. those who have experienced similar situations what did you do?

I am limited on driving distance due to family obligations and i typically drive for dollars during my lunch hour and that's about it.  

Walking distance to elementary and middle schools.

Applicants B and C don't know the area very well, they just really like my unit and is in a location that fairly splits their commutes.

For you, it would be the closest part of the city to Pearland and a reverse commute to work and family. 

(creating a new market of commuters that buy and rent) and finally, Athens has been named one of the top cities in America to retire so we are having a lot of people move back after retiring.