You ask which state you would choose to invest.Well, if you like living in Wisconsin, you could look for a duplex to start with in an area that had rental demand in the path of progress that was affordable to you.If not, I would make the drive over to Michigan and look at a markets like Lansing, Grand Rapids, or Kalamazoo.

Just reading data sheets will teach you nothing about that area.Unfortunately, I never found a source that isn't some type of shortcut grand summary. 

My goal is to be financially independent by 30, I would like, passive, around 6 grand a month, enough to be comfortable without a W-2 job.

But $30k-40k is a lot... or is not, in the grand scheme of peace of mind and long term appreciation of a 1/1 condo in San Diego? 

@Eli Gosnell there is likely some specific forums for each of your questions if you want to dive deeper but in general looking back I think I was so so so afraid of maintenance things and major issues coming up, and the reality is, even with every precaution they will happen and come up, and even the major ones (water line break into a basement) end up not being that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.  

I have a large construction background, and currently I am a small business owner operating in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Because, contrary to what younger persons think, that's what the GFC originated, the mortgage financing system melting down in grand fashion, the MBS (Mortgage backed Securities) imploded in a cascade effect. 

We don't do a ton of revenue and I have 3-5 employees at any time, but when a management company just withholds like 2 grand like this month (we remodeled a pent house unit for a national company) it messes with my cash flow and my employees getting paid.

I’m a property manager in Grand Rapids, and we use RPM’s Wealth Optimizer along with a customized spreadsheet I’ve built to help investors do exactly this.

She was tickled pink to actually get a couple of grand for them.But selling the land is still the problem.