Is BiggerPockets Legit?

"Millenial" 

I wonder if this is how I stumbled upon BiggerPockets last July. Not because of my love of avocados and incessant need for social welfare and free college, but because there is a pull inside of me that somehow will not allow me to follow the completely respectable but never truly amazing life of generations before me - get a job, work that job for 30-40 years, try to be able to retire - you know the drill. 

It certainly was not the idea of investing in real estate. I knew nothing about real estate. Like... Nothing. Sure, the absolute basics: people buy houses, people rent apartments... that's really it. The closest I got to real estate was the fact that I rented a room in an apartment in college (I always had a disdain for my landlord after the property manager said I missed a months rent and expected me to pay it or be evicted - when they were shown the signed rent checks proving I did indeed pay, they were just like "oh, okay" -- maybe I still had that automatic thought of "landlords are greedy,"  - you know the drill. Maybe it was an honest mistake, but I always thought that if I hadn't been able to show my correct and timely payments, like I imagine a lot of college students would not be able to do, and paid them again - they would've just kept it)! 

My point is - real estate was not even on my radar. 

I truly can't say for sure how I found BiggerPockets, except that I potentially found BiggerPockets the same way others found it - interested in expanding their income by any means necessary. Not being content with holding down a job for 40 years to just get by (this is what I mean by the millenial mindset - but it can't just be us). I couldn't do it. I'm not saying I expect to do nothing and hang out on a beach and all of that, but there is something in me that I know isn't in all people - I cannot be content with working for someone else forever - some people can. I have friends that are completely okay with working for 30 years and having a "normal" life of buy house, get married, have babies, etc. That's not me. I needed freedom. Options. Something.

I had been researching some random "get rich quick" dropshipping sites, got suckered into paying for a $2500 course about how to have a great ecommerce business that I never even went through the training on, which was an absolutely huge amount of money to me at the time (and still). Then somehow - not to get all "The Secret" on you, but I do think people draw certain things into their lives - I found it. BiggerPockets. I had to poke around for a while to see if it was legitimate, make sure I wasn't going to be sold something, make sure these were "real" people doing "real" things, also just getting to know the bare bone basics of "real" estate. 

I got the bug. 

I am still considered a brand new investor. Or something even less than brand new. Rookie. First timer. Whatever you want to call it. Still trying to even wrap my head around the various topics in the daily forums and blogs. Still trying to determine what direction to go. Still trying to convince other people that real estate is a viable option. Heck, I'm still trying to find out how the hell to get a decent contractor to even call me back, let alone allow me to pay them to do some work! But still, I persisted. Listening to the podcasts, reading the forums, connecting with other BP members in my area. 

Last April, about 9-10 months after originally joining BiggerPockets, I bought my first investment property: a duplex that I am currently house hacking in. Frankly, I still have no idea what I'm doing, but as my nephew said just this past weekend while helping me replace some siding (notice how I said I can't find a contractor): 

"as long as you're moving forward, you're not moving backward."

So - I'm truly wondering with this first post - is this need for income options generational? Am I just at a quarter life crisis? Does EVERYONE feel this way, or is it just some of us?

Am I being selfish for not being grateful for my W-2 job that makes a reliable and at least moderately respectable income?

How did YOU find BiggerPockets? What were you looking for?

I plan on using this blog to tell my story of my first investment property, and continuous investment in real estate (hopefully!). Everything from how I bought it. All of the road blocks, all of the stress, and all of the cashed rent checks too! Stay tuned.