I'll keep all this in mind as I continue to learn.

Wealth growth is a life long venture.

The Midwest can't attract quality jobs fast because there is little or no infrastructure/ecosystems needed for high-growth, high-paying jobs. 

So I continued paying my Realtor fees but I started focusing more on moving my corporate career to higher levels. 

Plus my initial thoughts for purchasing were strictly for a rental eventually, and I'm in a great A location next to so many things, and Portland has already started spreading out where I am and developing the area for huge growth. 

Hey Matthew, I saw that you'd need to compare your options, there are plenty of places with great renter populations and high job/wage growth.

I think the best place for you to start is to continue to educate yourself through the different programs/blogs/articles on the BP site relating to house hacking, including the different financing methods (e.g.

I'd do a search for "Best Places to Retire" or "Where Millennials Are Moving To" or "Where Job Growth Is Highest".

(I have about 3k liquid cash, and a 10k Roth IRA, no debts, monthly expense to income ratio of ~.31)I can either go the slow route, get a W2 job, get some decent W2 income, save as much as possible and continue learning for the next year before 'starting' or, I can seek private lenders to accelerate this plan.  

Of course this won’t continue and once I have repairs and vacancy that average yearly return will average down.