But, if you really want to avoid risks, West LA, most of the Valley, and the beach cities, are all low crime areas. 

Since less people are into owning their own homes, developers have been building these huge complexes with just enough perks to push for rents that most locals won't pay... unless they are either older and do not want the house maintenance costs anymore, or if they are younger buy from the city where moving further out seems like a better rent.Side note: I've dubbed Long Island as the land of illegal apartments.

You can also see what the city assessor has it as in regards to # of units. http://cookcountyassessor.com/Search/Property-Sear...Warning though the assessor is often wrong and the zoning doc trumps what's on there.

I have noticed that there are turn-key 2-3br townhomes in the city center that are in my range.

My wife and I own a number of investment properties in Portland OR and are looking at Milwaukee as our next potential investment city. 

Are you located in the Kansas City area?

Anyone know of any Twin Cities groups / meetups I can join? 

The current DOM for those particular zip codes (which covers everything from Texas City to Clear Lake to Pasadena and everything surrounding) still shows that we are still in a strong seller's market. 

Just like any city, there are good and bad areas and you'll probably want to stay out of some of the worse areas for you and your family.

Looking to connect with investors in my new city!