We are not particularly probe to weather events, although we do get the occasional hurricane scare every few years. 

If you don't have family or friends there, find one that is easy to fly to occasionally. 

I am in the FL market but occasionally make my way up to that part of the country.

however, i am keenly aware that certain types of investment schemes (for lack of a better word) tend to end badly....occasionally with out of state investors holding the bag with a loan they've guaranteed on a house that is truly worth maybe half of what the appraisal says (btw, i am not a fan of appraisals...).  

But ultimately most sellers want to walk away with a boat load of cash but occasionally you run into a seller who needs something other than cash.

For days after the storm hit we saw next to zero MLS activity other than maybe the occasional price change.

Some more information would be helpful: -Are you looking to avoid cold and snowy conditions entirely, or are you ok with cold rain and maybe the occasional snow storm? 

I could definitely use it for REI....I made certain to pick one that was going to be useful...hoping that it could be a good compliment to REI, or vice versa.I havent looked into internships, because I do work now (farm mgmt and an occasional flipper).

An occasional accident if a pet is ill is one thing, but purposely leaving a pet behind with no option to go to the bathroom other than on your floors is completely unacceptable behavior.However, we may be jumping the gun here because maybe they have someone coming over after work or something to take care of the dog. 

I hear about some lenders that make a good amount of money from just charging people high fee but only occasionally delivering a loan.- Get the list of all expenses in writing upfront.