And my dad lives in Texas, and insists that I DO NOT “move twice” and instead should just move straight down to Texas (I have NOT EVEN CONSIDERED telling him that instead of renting in PA, I am planning on buying a house before I move then rent it out - he would have a heart attack, he really doesn’t understand).What should I do?

In a reverse exchange the QI for your 1031 creates a separate entity that takes title to the new property and holds it until your sale has closed.It's a rather intricate process as you can imagine and rather expensive compared to a simple straight 1031 exchange. 

But it's not as straight forward you'd hope. 

@Andrew Tanner Why try to owner fiancé it, why not just straight up sell it?

Should I be looking at straight cash flow, at hold, at BRRR?

I have a similar question as the OP but in the context of a second home (not a straight investment property).

For you, working in Cambridge, Lowell works well as a trafficked but straight drive down Route 3 to get to work.

I think this is why tenant screening is SO important.As someone else mentioned above, no one cares like we care and therefore that means we must take total responsibilities for our properties.I forget the guest on BP, but he did offer gift cards for children who got straight a's or gift cards for birthdays or special holidays, that I do feel is a great idea, because it shows your tenant they are more than just a $$ in your eyes

People want to skip kindergarten and go straight for the doctorate degree.

If you are looking at a straight up STR, I'd be careful and make sure you look at the proposals that are out there with STR's.