And I like your name ...I grew up in Virginia where almost everyone had the names Robert and Lee.....

I grew up in Hobe Sound and Jupiter then moved here in '96.

We would like to buy property in a strong market with good appreciation potential and Utah is a place that we are very familiar with (my wife grew up there and I lived there for 6 years).

I should also say that I grew up in Austin, so I'm well versed into the ins and outs of the market and what it currently looks like. 

There are a lot of homes around there with no HOA, I grew up in that part of the valley.

Comparing 2023 apartment supply growth against rent growth we can see that inventory grew at about double normal, and rents still rose .5% on average.

Also, I do find it interesting how no mention is made to the fact that that retirement account grew to 1.5MM over time probably due to stock appreciation where the individual did not have to touch a thing and probably averaged a healthy, tax-deferred return over decades.I do agree that the podcast has turned a lot more salesy/pitchy in recent times.

@Scott Trench thank you for your response on this post, I think it provides a lot of great points.I grew up in California and there is a lot I love about the state but I'm terrified to own real estate there.

I grew up loving the game of Monopoly. 

I grew up in construction.