If you don't know the answer study the market until you do.As for going out of state I don't recommend if you live close enough to any area of similar pricing I'd recommend you just invest there where you have more knowledge & experience.If you do go out of state It's not really that complicated to buy out of state.

I'm not super familiar with cap rates but other single, duplex and triplex cap rates seem to be similar.

Similar to Yellow Letters now...

The idea is to get a hold of a property that's similar and recently sold to have a negotiation  factor when contacting the owner. 

I plan to invest in a rental property that is similar to my residence.

I presume they all have the same/similar address (10 Main St #1-6 or similar)? 

Second, I moved to Pensacola about a year ago and I had  similar ideas you are currently having. 

Does anybody have similar situation?

Check online what similar properties have sold for in the past few months.

I note that you asked specifically about “cash-flows”, which has multiple components each treated differently for tax purposes.In general, you can start with NOI, next you have debt service and cap ex, which can get you to cash-flows.The interest portion of your debt service is tax deductible (possible subject to limitations) and the principal portion is not because you get basis in the asset for the loan principal, which generates a depreciation deduction.Similarly, cap ex is generally not deductible currently but the expenditure is capitalized and depreciated, similar to the initial basis in the asset.In summary, you have cash and non-cash tax items that cause your taxable income to differ from your cash-flows and taxable income * tax rate determines your tax liability.