Investing in the hotter areas of NC will be expensive but still much cheaper then CA.I have considered living in Nasheville when I’m older and that way I get a similar city culture to where I live now but I am only 3 hours from my rentals

This means you can fly out at a decent time and back same day if you had to all the while being able to take care of whatever needed to be done.Once you add in layovers and and eastern time you're wasting an entire day just in travel and that adds up.You also have the subtle nuances that vary by location in terms of tenants rights vs landlord rights...Lastly, ever market has its own culture and some will fit you're personality better than others.

Like I tell everyone looking to househack and Rent by the Room in San Diego. 1) price point 2) lifestyle & Culture 3) Risk tolerance 4) Rent demand based on rent price and desire to live in that location. 

the conditions are varied but majority of blds are classified as D bld and "high" crime neighborhoods high for maine not usa but some sporadic improvements are being realized around court house, canal by river, canal by rt 495, kennedy park, and ice arena by high school. outside this area is much safer and better quality overall conditions, neighborhoods esp near bates college, or closer to highway. more sfr and less multis.many use local long term experienced property management teams unless your strong experienced landlord with systems in place. i have rented too and be inside many lewiston buildings. some transplants have cultural programming like keeping or killing or processing livestock in apartments cupboards and trash accumulation is issue. i have dealt with many lewiston applicants and my experience many with high percent of eviction and or conviction history or both. most are limited by section 8 rules. many my tenants were on younger side, and many had mmj cards and smoke indoors. allow friends couch surf, but some are entrepreneurial but have wrong product. deals can be had. but don't scrimp on professional inspections, or onsite interviews. buildings can be fixed much easier than tenants can.be very careful of flipping single family homes in this tree block area. it wont likely be sold to live in homeowner but rented out by displaced local.

They are all debatable but here are my two main reasons for investing locally (we have 15 multi family buildings in Everett):- large chunks of appreciation will make you far more wealthy than a few hundred extra dollars of cashflow every month- I like investing in real estate because it is a physical asset I can force appreciation into with my own work and I can’t do that as well when I’m investing out of state

Over the long haul, you will be much more wealthy with this road, then paying cash as you go.

Your other school of thought could be looking for an investor who is wealthy but short on time to partner up with. 

@Chris John I’m way too busy getting wealthy off of RE to discuss politics.

You will also need to learn the culture of student housing there: When is the student rental season that kids are looking for next year?

There's a lot of temptation to have glitz and glamour but I'm assuming the point of real estate wealth, is early retirement, a legacy and financial freedom (which to me are financial options).