Hello BP community !!

A bit about me :

In nine years I've gone from Receptionist, to Landlord/Tenant paralegal at a REI firm, to a short stint as Property Manager at the same firm, to Legal Clerk for a Real Estate Law firm, to drafting contracts for deals and handling all due diligence for a Real State Attorney, to now Operations Manager for a New York City Marshal handling evictions across the five boroughs and executing on the collection of money judgments.

Clearly I've been involved in Real Estate in some way since the age of 17. I have connections with big NYC landlords and dream to some day become one. The catch is that the NYC market is completely out of reach for a small to moderate investor. At the moment I have about 20k saved and have been looking at properties in the outer boroughs. I hope to be able to purchase my first property in early 2015.

Recently I decided that maybe it'll be an good idea to explore markets in surrounding states, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, etc. Does anyone recommend a specific area in these states? I need to find the right market to get into now and build from there. 

I'd like my first property to be a live-in-flip and build cushion from there.

Thanks everyone !