Turnkey is what most investors do for long distance investing.Do a search on the term "Turnkey" One of the most popular topics on the site.

But I finally decided to stay within 1 hr driving distance to avoid hassle.

If I was a little younger and didn't mind dealing with tenants, I'd be looking at smaller buy-and-hold properties within walking/biking distance of fast-growing Everett College, at the north end of Broadway.

Once 167 gets 3 lane All the way through Cabot more people from the base and Littlerock will commute further to places like beebe. 

I actually know many students that commute up to an hour every day just because of the housing shortage...ok I think you get my point, there's more eager renters than there are rentals.As a public works employee and resident I spend a lot of time driving down every single road in town...over and over.

I've just started listening to the podcasts on my commute.

You are trying to figure out if you can invest from a distance and learn the tax implications of doing so.  

With that, I am looking to start investing in RE again from a distance and once I am able to return to Raleigh, I will already have a portfolio started. 

So I usually find the distance through Google map and just record the times visited the property.

In a lower cost area you can spread your risk over more property rather then a few in NoVa but it is a difficult commute.