Disclamer, my expirience is limited because of the long distance from a properties.So who is working on strategy like this here?

Long distance ownership is not going to work for you since you have zero business skills.  

There are LOTS of pros to self-managing, but if you live at a distance sometimes it's just not worth it.

I have been reading a lot of different posts, listening to the podcasts and I am currently reading long-distance real estate investing by David Greene.

If you do consider it, make sure it's a distance away that you are comfortable with.

Surprisingly, the light rail actually expands pretty far south of Charlotte's downtown, so are there any neighborhoods within walking distance of a light rail stop that are better investments?

I currently live in an apartment in Ogden, commuting to SLC for work and attending BP Podcast University ;)Occupation: Artist, Office Manager at Dezember Photography, Painting Instructor at The Paint MixerGoal: Financial freedom!

Property is walking distance from Lowe's, Chick-fil-A, and strip mall.

Are you going to do this long distance?

You mentioned Thornton and Broomfield but I'd stay in Boulder County if you can: safer appreciation play and closer to school so you can keep quality roommates and enjoy your time at school/commute less. 1% rule isn't a metric that should be a major factor in your situation in my opinion seeing as you need a place to live while you're here anyway, so you're talking about offsetting your living costs and taking advantage of a market with consistent significant appreciation. 1% rule is generally applied to pure investment properties, while you're talking about a house-hack.