There are good people who, if they could, would choose to live in Class B neighborhoods, but they can only afford class C....that is your target resident.  

I am based in Texas and I understand that there is a lot of affordable duplexes in Westmoreland County for a low as $90,000 on Zillow.If you are looking to House Hack like @Madison Stoner  I recommend you interview some local Investor Minded Real Estate Agent and hire the one you feel most comfortable with.

Cannot afford any mistakes on the procedural stuff of evictions.Would contact a PM but not for the eviction.

Moreover, if you sell or the tenants want to move and their rents are well below market - they might be in for a shock/lifestyle adjustment/unable to afford current market rents.

-New, affordable duplexes that have 2 bedrooms in each unit?

Few questions- to afford a $1M home you must have had good salary - who was the bread winner between you and your ex?

I would recommend to buy in your local market for your first property... but I also realize every market is different and might not be affordable or the best solution. 

Sherman is more affordable but faces rising prices.

But I think the advice I'm hearing from @Julia Lyrberg and @Dave Foster and @trevor finn  is 1) that it might be smarter/lower risk to diversify and 2) that I really might not be able to afford to keep my primary house as a rental.

Wow I came her to see what people had to say about NOLA ... as it seemed affordable.