Link up, have lunch or coffee and learn.  

I didn't upgrade my cell phone, brought my lunches to work, said no (most of the time) to fancy coffee, turned down my friends a lot for hangouts (that one I kind of regret) and reduced my shopping down to almost nothing. 

However, I still miss the lunch and coffee meetings with local people.

The house was pretty nearby.

If you're ever in town I love to meet other investors for coffee.  

The price in the area is still relatively low compare to nearby areas (Bates Hendricks and Fountain Square).

You can find city data here or see if your nearby cities show up on the fastest growing cities list.

I have a car and would be happy to travel to buy you lunch or coffee anywhere in the NYC metropolitan area or maybe even tri-state area or we can always connect virtually.

There is a Burger King, McDonalds, and a motel nearby.

Locally you have advantage of knowing your market at least and being nearby.