I currently work in health care, but I'm interested in investing in real estate. 

Gross income is just the top line, and as you can understand, the income doesn't become "real" until the expenses are backed out - in this case we are talking about the NOI, of course.Besides the obvious expenses, there are also expenses that are a function of the type and quality of asset, and those are called Economic Losses.

You can't improve what you don't measure so it's important that your measuring your financial health properly, good luck!

I love teaching, but I just turned 50 and want to first replace all my w2 earnings and then far surpass those w2 earnings and then keep deferring taxes with the 1031 exchange and leave a significant economic legacy that my child could continue if he chooses.  

I do not believe owning one property and starting a property management company for it will be economically advantageous.

This was supposed to ease prices (Supply vs Demand economics) However it looks as if prices are still increasing???

That is, people who only understand working for money, not necessarily having money work for them.My financial mentors teach putting equity to work producing income (arbitrage) instead of letting "dead" equity just sit and ebb/flow with the economic tide.Just wanted to present another viewpoint.

As said i'm fairly new to real estate, i want economic freedom, and will create an empire through sources of income unnumbered, multi-family, flipping, and to start whole sale.

Another book I enjoyed reading a while back is "The New Elite" by Taylor & Harrison.Jim Taylor and Doug Harrison define this "Elite" group as “people in the top 1 percent of half of 1 percent of the American economic spectrum: These people typically have at least $5 million in liquid assets (i.e., not including their primary residence) or have at least $500,000 in annual discretionary income.”

Anthony - I know you are well intentioned  but "lower income" and "moving" to towns like "Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta or Dallas" encompasses a whole LOT of factors (Economic/social etc etc) that don't translate easily to uprooting from their existing place and moving to  as you put it.