Picking a local market in SoCal

[Sherry T.]

Hi All! 
New to BP and am really impressed by this community! 
After debating local vs. or OOS, it seems like prudent advice to try to start locally with long term MF in so cal. Most of SoCal feels unaffordable to me so Im looking in Riverside or downtown Long Beach. I’m SAHM and have the time to self manage. I’m not looking for cash flow per se, but I’d like for the investment to justify taking out of my professionally managed stock portfolio which did 20% this year. 

These are the pros and cons of these markets as I see it: 

Riverside: Larger units with more bedrooms; I can afford better neighborhood with less crime (50 percentile); properties are less old but ugly. 

DT Long Beach: beachy urban setting with smaller units 1bdr; close to tourist attractions, and thinking I can STR one unit; BUT high crime rate (90 percentile); properties are older but more attractive

Is it better to go into a slightly better neighborhood in boring Riverside or a more crime ridden area of cool kid Long Beach? Are there other local markets I should be considering? 
Alternative I have a daughter up in Davis that we could help house hack…

[Eric Gerakos]

My rental properties are all in Riverside county. Great appreciation and cashflow if you know where and how to buy.