Path to success to retirement ready income from RE portfolio

Hi All

I am new to using biggerpockets (though I made an account a while back, I never got around to using it). I listen to various real estate podcasts regularly. One thing about this business continues to elude me. Please help me understand.

A little bit about me, I live in the bay area and am working in a tech job. I don't know the path to really retire on real estate income. Bay area markets are so expensive that the net income is really close to nothing. Almost all the podcasts I hear are about people who have "retired" on their real estate income do one/more of the following:

1. BRRRR strategy - meaning they have time and resource to rehab

2. Buy relatively cheaper homes out-of-state on their salaries (or partner's money) and rent them out. They work full time as real estate professional, so they get really huge tax benefits.

In my situation, I have a tech job that I cannot leave because I love the job. I still like the idea of have a retirement-ready income from real estate portfolio. So, what path should I take? One might say partner with other people but its not as easy and requires trust, working style matches that I am open to, but would like an alternate option that I can follow along with my wife (my wife is my partner). I pay a lot of tax and do not get much tax benefits on real estate portfolio due to my W-2 job. I rehabbed my primary home and that was a nightmare to deal with. Rehabbing investment homes from a distance seems a very difficult thing to do. 

I am sure many people on this forum are in my shoes. Is the path to early retirement for W2 working people like me in an expensive market just this:

- Slowly buy out-of-state homes on W2 income and maybe in 15-20 years, amass a portfolio of 20 homes that will have enough retirement income?

I welcome your suggestions.

Thanks

Rohit