I'm okay with buying outside of Charlotte but would want it to be within a few hours driving distance so I could drive to the property when needed.

Quote from @Ryan Moyer: Quote from @Chris Seveney: We are taking over a property in Reunion resort (6br) and are looking for turnkey short term rental manager for the property.

I’ll be straight up, I really don’t have any insight on the Fort Lauderdale short-term rental scene.

Long story short the myth of New Jersey not be able to cash flow is simply not true. 

I’m curious to hear from other hosts, what’s the most you’ve spent to add a specific theme or experience to your short-term rental?

Determine the distance the people live from the shop you now work at, that's your likely distance of influence. 

Since you mentioned wanting to potentially switch careers, long-distance investing can be a great option, and I'd definitely take a look at Columbus, Ohio.

I have been debating whether to buy a home for short term rentals in the Poconos vs long term rental in Allentown or Easton, PA.

I have a recommended contractor (who was a flim flam man) who thought that he knew the crawl space and other issues in the house but didn't.The deal turned out to be mostly a break-even fix-n-flip and needless to say I won't be doing an more rehabs at a distance. 

Since our market is low income Medicare and VA markets the land can be with in any distance (as long as we can get staff) from major city, thus cheap.