Or a pure rental property?

If the pure reason for moving is real estate costs then you are already in one of the best markets where you will get the biggest bank for your buck since you can use leverage and purchase a single family or condo with 3-5% down like @Brianna Billings has done and proven its possible...or you can look at multifamily options and purchase a duplex with FHA loan and put 3.5% down or put 5% down for a conventional loan and purchase a 3-4 unit property.  

Just pure curiosity - trying to get a feel for various markets.

I ask only because most owner occupants will pay more than a pure investor and tend to "fall in love" with a property instead of focusing on the deal.

This is a pure speculation play. 

*disclaimer* i'm not saying you could get those specific terms, its purely for example purposes.

There are advantages but from a purely financial point of view, less than investing the money. 

House hack or pure investment?

However, given that I'm choosing a home for the next 12-18 months rather than a pure investment property makes me lean toward Chicago for the aforementioned reasons. 

My pure passive cash flow from my apartment rentals has recently surpassed our living expenses, so I quit my 6-figure Finance career to do REI full-time.