Likewise, the traditionally Polish/Slavic neighborhoods to the near southwest are showing promise.As for other markets, think about the entire 50-mile corridor south of Milwaukee and stretching to the Illinois border.

It could appreciate but I consider that gambling.

That being said, assuming you invest in CA while you live in CA your returns wont be as high but you will also have that good looking income and lifestyle should things take a turn.Bakersfield is a great market to invest in if you are looking at investing in CA because there is still good cash flow and if you look at some of my previous posts you can see there is growth here, but it really comes down to if you want to gamble and potentially make more income than you could have even with your job, or if you want to take the job and play it safe and increase your investments over time.  

Also, my location is northeast of Springfield, Ma...on the NH border.

That option has always seemed kind of scary to me, and too much of a gamble.

Charles, I also gamble when investing in stocks.

It borders on harassment and is such a nightmare I offered to buy another house for her to move to because she is as close to a perfect tenant as you can find.

I am still a newbie in the investing world so I cannot talk to the numbers or appreciation however I have lived in Yonkers for more than 20 years which borders Mt.

At that point, you are not risking or gambling, you are taking sure bets.

He is planning to move across the border to MN (much cheaper health insurance) and live in a house and step away from day to day activity.