Mid-sized city for growth or small city for cashflow?

[Tyler D.]

I'm looking at picking up some property in my local town, which is a mid-sized town of about 80k people. The cashflow numbers here are not great, most properties do not break 1%. However population and job growth are both high and will likely continue.

Meanwhile, there is a smaller town a couple hours away of about 20k people with much better cashflow. The average home is about 50% of the price, but the rent is only about 20% lower. I can definitely get 1% on cheaper properties, however the population growth is considerably lower. 

I'm considering going for the smaller town, because the cashflow is much better and I don't think it's going anywhere. Just growing at a smaller rate. What are your thoughts?