It doesn't need batteries and has never failed me.

You can get into it WAY cheaper than a pure investment property.  

If their first few tenants turn out good it is only by pure luck and they rarely clue into the importance of screening till they finally hit the inevitable bad tenant.

I am curious if anyone has come close to the 1% rule recently or if this market is purely appreciation based.

From a purely time vs money standpoint you may be better off with professional preparation, but again, I feel I benefit from the intimate knowledge it gives me.

Wesley: Purely personal reasons. 

From a pure investment standpoint, there's not a huge benefit to one of these areas over the other.

The rustbelt is a pure cashflow play.  

Can you folks suggest which of these cities would make a better investment if I am looking purely for good rental cash flow ?

Alternatively, mind if I propose:Option 4: Keep renting & buy a pure investment property (Airbnb)I did a combined house hack / Airbnb, but with interest rates where they're at, you might not even save that much with a house hack, so you may be better off just optimizing for a pure investment property instead.