I agree that immersing yourself in the neighborhood is the best way to influence the most change.

I also felt that being immersed in RE as a career could pay dividends going towards REI.  

But once I get settled I absolutely plan on joining the local REIA and immersing myself in the local scene.

One of the reasons I left my engineering career to be fully immersed in real estate was to "level up" my environment. 

But what I suddenly found was that I was getting bombarded with all kinds of Real Estate Investing training and opportunities from every direction so suddenly I felt like something was telling me to shift to RE Investing so suddenly I have been immersed in all kinds of RE training, websites that offer memberships, etc. so now I am thinking maybe I will go the REI plan first and use those profits to help fund my Broker business and there is also a phenomenal program that same company has that can automate my REI business too.  

Although, I’m still pretty young and haven’t immersed myself enough into professional life to have a massive network.

Immersing yourself into the sales end of real estate will benefit you with great relationships, access to the MLS, and overall/current knowledge of the market you're looking to invest in.

Hi,I'm looking to further immerse myself in the local Chicago real estate scene and as such, am looking to join a local REIA.

I would suggest to continue to immerse yourself in the process, don’t worry about learning everything right away but work with someone who knows the industry in the area you want to invest.  

Every real estate transaction I’ve been involved in (we’ve bought and rehabbed a couple of long term rentals) has been so enjoyable and I always think that if I could spend every day immersed in all things real estate it would be my dream job.