New to Real Estate Investing...what should I do with $300K?

[Tom Wilson]

Like the title states, I've got $300K (or will in a few weeks when we close escrow on our current home).  I've been studying real estate investment books for the last several months and am a little overloaded by all the options.  Honestly, I'm afraid of making a mistake starting out.  

I currently live in Southern California and don't like the Real Estate market out here.  Seems like the prices are near the top and from what I observed (I honestly haven't researched it in depth), it seems like the renter's rights outweigh the owner's rights (just had a friend in San Diego take 6 months to evict a tenant who wouldn't pay the rent).  I think I'm leaning toward investing across the border in AZ or NV which are within a 4-hour driving distance if I need to go over and check on my properties once a month.

I feel like I'm a bit at a crossroads at the moment starting out. Again, it feels like there's an infinite amount of options. I'm looking for somewhere to park my cash and get a return. Not sure if I should go for a standard SFR, multi-family setup, or go for something bigger, like buying an apartment complex. Reading through some of the books and postings here, some people start small and work up to a cash flow that allows them to get bigger options like an apartment. I'm not sure if it's wise to start small, get a feel for real estate investments with a single small, $100K SFR and then work up over time to something bigger after I get a feel for what I'm doing.

Would love to get the insight of the community.  Trying to navigate a course, but not sure what direction I should point in.