Hi, I've long been *interested* in real estate investing but have always felt scared, young and too poor.  I've finally convinced myself that I am able to buy, but would only feel comfortable up to around $300k.  I'm interested in house hacking but open to other opportunities.

Honestly, I'm still scared and my current thoughts are this: for my first purchase, it's ok not to cash flow or adhere to any formulas because as long as I'm paying less than I'm paying for rent right now, it would be an improvement in my situation and I will at least learn more by getting firsthand experience in buying real estate.  And even if I end up just buying a small condo and living in it alone, it is better than renting (?? yes? no?).  The reason why I set the bar at less than my current rent is because my current rent is at the upper limit of my comfort zone.  Are there any pitfalls to this kind of attitude?

I'm also having difficulty choosing an area in LA to target.  Right now I live in Pasadena.  I really love the area but I don't know if it would be the right place for me to buy because it's expensive.  It's also far from work (but it's close to family).  The other 2 places I'm thinking of are Long Beach and Inglewood.  Both seem more affordable to me.  Long Beach seems to have more of the walkability and metro rail access, which are big reasons why I like Pasadena.  The commute to work would not be much better than my current one from Pasadena.  Inglewood, on the other hand, is very close to where I work.  It doesn't seem to have those things I like right now, but it sounds like it will in the future with new developments, Crenshaw Line, etc.  

Oh, the other option would be to continue renting in Pasadena, perhaps finding a roommate to save money and try to invest elsewhere in a cheaper market...but the long-distance thing sounds even more scary to me.

Any advice or opinions would be appreciated!