It's much safer to invest in areas outside Interstate 465, minus areas such as Lawrence which is a beast different from any other.If you want to attract good renters buy in good school districts too.  

With kids we have to be mindful of school districts, etc.

I will be graduating from college in December and I accepted a job offer making $20 an hour starting.

Outside of the city you could look a bit further away as long as you remain in the same school district/zip code.

You owe the bank their money every month (the mortgage), you have to have insurance on the property, you'll be dealing with the local government in the form of property taxes whether it's real estate taxes and/or school taxes. 

Hello, everyone, I’m a recent college graduate new to real estate investing.

I hope to move more towards dev/design before I graduate.

Best school district in Florida and will be a good long term investment How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

It was a cosmetically dated, but solid starter house in a desirable school district.

Look for a stable township with good taxes and schools, you'll be glad you moved forward!