I am single and can go to a location where good deals are to be had.

I am located in Connecticut were the two big cities are New Haven and Hartford.

-the crime in the pocket where the townhomes are located is relatively low, since this Pocket was close to onion creek park and some nice quiet neighborhoods exist.

There are a number of purchase/sale/holding costs to look out for, that I compiled into this post here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/8814/70530-fix-and-flip-project-costs-purchase-sale-and-holdingI see that you're located in South Dakota, so in addition to those costs you'll also need to contend with the Contractor's Excise Tax, which is a 2% tax imposed on "prime" contractors engaged in "realty improvement projects" in South Dakota.

If somebody spent $2 or $3 mil to put up some really nice new apartments someplace, then they clearly selected that location using specific parameters. 

The location is great and the apartment would be a great first house hack for me, which bring me to my question.

We can firm up the location as we get closer, but I would say somewhere around the Apopka area.

Great locations - near beach and amenities?

Your location is an important factor on rentals as well as nearby amenities and the retail development near there. 

This property is located in central California.Sorry for sounding like such a newbie (I am one!)