How to pick a market:-Pick a larger MSA-make sure jobs are diversified. ex tech, medical, gov't, finance-more people move in to the market than leaving-room for growth in rent-landlord & business friendly-boots on the ground if possibleOnce you narrow these things down learn where the path of progress is and good school zones.

Besides that, there's no reason all of those high paying tech jobs couldn't move elsewhere.

The nature of the industry I worked in before I retired (tech) is a boom and bust industry.

AndreThis is 1 of countless situations when it's invaluable to work with a local savvy, well networked investment/str specialized real estate agent, as they should work actively with trustworthy local contractors, architects, even city/county techs that can explore the issue and solve it legally/ethically, without getting you into trouble.

Like in Austin, Texas, where lots of tech folks are coming, but there aren't many houses, so rents shot up.

Lots of tech, tons of support, lots of training, but the reality fell far short. 

I am interested in properties in that area too due to 16 Tech and other development going on.

If you want to get a bit more upscale, look around Norcross, Sandy Springs, and Perimeter areas (north of city), or even East Cobb and/or Alpharetta (further north of city) where prices start to get into the $200K+ range (with REOs in the $100K+ range).Then there are the high-end areas in the city, like Druid Hills and Buckhead, where prices will rival what you're seeing in your area ($500K+, up to several million), as will the quality of the neighborhoods.This is the reason why investing out-of-state is difficult...without knowing the details of the MSA, it's very hard to make quick and qualified decisions.

It has setback to 68 after 2 hours and tops at 70, it is low tech but we weren't planning on an internet version.

My business partner and I ultimately decided to solely focus on Raleigh-Durham due to its growth potential driven by the universities and tech.