SP punches above its weight as far as political and media visibility.The "downtown" (14th ave) is improving with several recently opened restaurants occupying recently rehabbed original commercial structures, alongside well established mexican places.   

I will be able to do my own work, comps, see houses when I want etc.Second, I am gradually packing my golden parachute.  

I'm from the UK (London)My question is just how does one get the license, how long will it take if you work on it like a full time job, do you need RE specific college degrees, do you need to work for a brokerage for a set amount of time etc..I want the license because I would like to get into RE investing full time, not so much on the sales or mediating side of it, but I want to be able to think like an agent and learn all the "tricks of the trade", and allow me access to the most up to date and accurate market data available.I'm sure there are many more benefits to getting a license, learning how to efficiently use the MLS, cutting on closing costs, local/industry knowledge, meeting contacts,wholesalers and so on.If getting a license is something I can achieve then great, if I need specific college degrees which will take me 4+ years then another 2+ years interning then maybe not, just trying to get as much info on this as possible to weight things up.

A good agent is worth thier weight in gold just like an attorney. you just have to ask yourself how much of an agent do you want to be.

Should I give too much weight on the county assessed price?

Cons: Not there to manage STR's (I give this con a lot of weight) - Winter... i hate winter, plus rental rates go down. - Buying a house from across the country is slightly uncomfortable for me (mostly irrational fear). - Having to front all of the upgrades at time of purchase, including furniture, is expensive (spending a lot of money on stuff that wouldn't be necessary for a long term rental).1.

I think you will gain a lot of oppurtunity to work with investors and gradually start to see what you want as an investor and possibly get to shadow some.

The bigger the better I guess it was because the vehicle had to be above a certain Gross vehicle weight I believe.

I sacked all of mine and now self manage.A reliable & honest contractor is the most valuable member of your team.Security cameras (multi family) are worth their weight in gold.

You can gradually move into the higher class suburb type areas once you've become thoroughly familiar with the market and which parts of the A class areas are worth jumping on deals.