This area is so spread out because there is room for expansion in all directions.

Dallas is so high on my list because I love being near big cities (currently go to school in NYC), the economy of Dallas and its surrounding areas seems to be growing exponentially, there are a lot of jobs, and it seems to be one of the top places to invest in real estate.I'm looking to house hack to start, and am not set on living directly in Dallas as I know it is an extremely competitive area.

But high school is so unbelievably easy to complete that anyone who doesn't have a diploma can reasonably be assumed to be an idiot.

I feel like the DFW area is a great market to get in, and there is so much potential there.

I totally agree that we are not usually as smart as we think we are.. in a prolonged growing market like we have had it is so easy to believe we are geniuses rather than to observe the big impact that the strong market around us is having on our success.

I was thinking it is so much better than a loan since I will only be paying interest on what i use.

This is one reason by the bachelor's degree is so varied. 

I have about 200k saved in reserves and want to buy my first rental property (ideally out of state) but am worried I wont get funding since my DTI is so high due to my primary home... 

Investing in Bay Area is far more profitable than Midwest, which is why the price is so high here.

I have only been on this site for a couple of weeks now and I am astonished at the number of people who are willing to help each other out, It is so cool and exciting!