It's ripe for a development and was rated the best town to live north of Boston.

I am based out of North, NJ focusing on investments with NYC transport.

Let's say you are looking for a home in a middle class area that offers good schools, transportation to the city and low crime.

@Rita Medeiros Thanks for the invite Rita, but I will be on Boston until January

You could very well jump across the border and invest here in Connecticut, but the returns might not be as high as some of the other locations flks are recommending here. on the other hand, you can drive to the Connecticut rental, while it may be more difficult and generally not worth it to try to travel to locations that are further away.Personally, I like to be as close to my rentals as possible, but I understand that that is not a criteria for everyone.Much of Harford county Connecticut is still seeing above the 1% rule for properties on the MLS, and that certainly makes it tempting for investors based in New York, Boston and much of the West coast.

Super informative and applies to those house hacking in Boston as well!

I wonder about trucking/transport/shipping now, because this appears to be a weak link in the big picture equation.

Lots of accessible public transportation to the city from each area. 

I want proximity to public transportation, at least average schools, and good cash flow.

This is a fundamental fact in any investment class...real estate, dividends, bonds etc.The lower risk assets/markets (DC, Boston, Seattle) in real eatate actually typically have the higher return than the lower risk market (Baltimore, KC, Indianapolis).