My finding is that the math works out very similar in terms of cashflow (at least in my one comparison). 

My two goals in terms of business are to start my own trucking company and build a real estate portfolio.

In terms of jobs, the 2 biggest employers i think are the  refinery and the government(teachers, police, etc). 

The MSA is rich and diverse in terms of real estate niches and opportunities.

The examples of “a small corner of Utah, less than a county, etc.” are just meant as a visualization to demonstrate how much square mileage of solar panels it would take to power the country and demonstrate that in terms of producing enough electricity from solar to meet our energy needs, it’s entirely possible and would take up a relatively small percentage of our available land.

If you know what you're looking at (in terms of quality of work), consider paying them through PayPal or similar with a cc or cash and getting reimbursed from the draw later on.

It's a numbers game (in terms of reaching out to lenders).

My brother is a Falcon guy, so I'm glad none of use are from that terrible school on the Hudson.My idea is that the area will be popular for both Navy/CG/USMC/USAF students and next to the beach - really seems like I can't go wrong in terms of finding interested renters.

Seems eminently doable, but I'm still at the stage where I don't really know how to evaluate good deals from bad -- especially in terms of rental demand in a given area. 

You can manage out of an LLC and hold personally, but this doesn't give you much in terms of liability protection.