They might be your cup of tea.

After you settle on a market you want to invest in, I'd recommend building your core-4:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/core-four-real-estate-tea... 

I love Gardening (Organic), I grow medicinal herbs and make teas, Beekeeping (we just started back after my husband lost his hives several years ago); Nature Photography, Antiquing and Flea Markets (Pre-Covid we were planning to drive around the country going to different flea markets and antique fairs in our vintage Airstream; but those plans are on hold), Tai-Chi (Love it!)

All joking aside I know people do well investing in Cleveland, just not my cup of tea.

If it is not your cup of tea (because value adds are work), take the extracted $250k and put it in the index fund.  

Everyone starts somewhere and my tea is in place.  

Regarding my initial question on capital calls, my reading of said tea leaves says that 80-90% of capital calls in this current cycle will fail.LP’s out there: think things through carefully before agreeing to capital calls!

.- In reverse direction, American oil company invested heavily in rubber, tea plantation, oil company in such country since ... 1920s- Mainland Chinese family came to Cupertino,CA in early 2000 to purchased house there.I meant to say, the US mainstream investor is just mainly "do not know" those international activities already happening in the last 20 30 years or so.

I would recommend that you keep saving and looking for something more BRRR if that's your cup of tea.

We bought our first investment property in December 2017, the numbers were awesome but the building was old and the tenants weren't my cup of tea.