Being a realtor, I know my local market very, very well, and I can tell you that the Midwest is very competitive right now just like every other market!

We were able to maintain over 80% occupancy and a very competitive rate throughout the Summer.

My whatever-it-takes and competitive mentality combined with a positive and upbeat personality has catapulted me to great professional heights.

One would want to define a market then look for TK in that market..although being competitive as it is turnkey is generally all priced the same in each market.IE 6 to 10% COC these days.. for safe secure investment.. you go higher and you tend to go into a little rougher areas.so just depends on your skill set and level of risk.

In short, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission view MLSs treating certain listings (e.g. entry-only) differently than others (e.g. exclusive right) as anti-competitive behavior. 

Thinking it can only be done with some advantage is disingenuous to yourself, it also completely ignores the MASS of books written every year that all say success is based on a few things: hard work, taking risk, proper mindset, and finding competitive advantages.

You are very right, there are great parts of the world were you could live a great life for a fraction of the cost of living in the US. 

It would allow me to pay a higher price for the assets, and be more competitive, but am I being penny wise and pound foolish? 

The golden days of anything we're apparently always sometime prior to the present.Realistically, investing will become wayyyy harder in the future, & it will have nothing to do with prices and everything to do with ramped up competition.

You'd have to be able to convince tenants that the higher rent you're charging (compared to the local competition) is worth it because the tenants will save money on their electricity bill each month.