Souheil,You're looking at this problem the right way, which is to set a monthly cost as the target.I house hacked a large duplex just south of Hollywood last year with my wife and daughter.

I am in Shepherdsville and would love to stay south, but am not at all opposed to going to Louisville.

Happy to be your South Florida resource!

We always thought we would end up on long island, but recent events makes it seem like we will likely be moving to the south Shore of CT next year. 

Housing prices are high do to the oil field in our South Texas area.

@Andy DyerIs this the property in South Jersey you posted before?

Morgan Hill/Gilroy and farther south Hollister (which is at the one hour commute mark) are definitely more affordable.If you/your friend has any questions, please feel free to ask.

I'm originally from the South Central PA area and have a few buy and hold rental properties in Camp Hill and Mechanicsburg - great areas that have been very good for me. 

Currently I live in south Charlotte.

From a personal perspective, recently been looking into various south east locations as a prospective owner (I live in Atlanta) and Memphis is one of my target cities (along with Nashville and much of Florida Gulf Coast).