Thanks for the feedback, I'm definitely going to shop around for 2018 (already have done too much work with my accountant for 2017).  

There is no easy path. 

Definitely not a 50-50 spit in expenses but only a 75-25 split until initial investment is regained. 

I would love to hear how different buy-and-hold investors have charted a path between these two extremes.  

Drowning in "information" without actionable insight is definitely a risk. 

There are definitely areas that do better than others but you have to do your research on who is visiting the area and design and market to these guests.

, you may find it easier to do distance investing vs in the same state.I have three doors locally (single fam and a single fam we turned to a duplex), but ultimately my husband and I are more focused on the long distance investing as it's hard to make numbers make sense out here in Utah.That said, there's amazing real estate groups and meetups out here, and if you do want to buy local, getting connected with those groups will be the best way to hear how we make deals work out here, or killer deals that are hitting the market or that might be off market deals.Best of luck to you as you start out on your real estate investing path, we're all here rooting for you!

There's definitely areas you would want to stay clear of being new to investing, but once you build up your experience and portfolio you'll find that pretty much any of the places you mentioned, will make you money by buying investment real estate.I've helped many new investors turn themselves into seasoned vets by exploring the better neighborhood's first and then once more experienced they can venture into the riskier areas.Feel free to send me a DM and we can connect further.Matthew

If I don’t rent by 23 days on market something is definitely way wrong with my listing. 

I will definitely explore the options you suggested