Made sure water heaters were operating optimally and replaced those that needed it.

I have seen that even with optimized VR websites the OTAs will still rank higher, but it is good to be in the ballgame with them there. 

When it comes to investing, the tasks that I consider to be worth more than $400/hour include things like finding deals, negotiating, scaling/optimizing my business, networking, and handling some of the legal/protection aspects.

optimally you want two entities. 

I know thaty position isn't optimal but knowledge is power and so I'm here to gain as much knowledge as possible. 

Using all caps for emphasis is acceptable, particularly when I was pointing you to menu items that are specifically written in all caps. 

It’s hard enough to comp STRs bc less-than-optimized pricing can suppress total revenue significantly even if the property & mgmt are otherwise comparable to what you feel you can deliver. 

Regina,  Click on the menu hamburger, in the pull down box click on Learn, then click on Podcast.

If we wanted to optimize our lives for a low cost of living/tax burden the most opportunity for building our real estate portfolio in a beginner-friendly market, where should we be looking?  

You should be optimizing after-tax income net of perceived risk; NOT minimizing taxes.