Well, it doesn't help me at all in the tech job market, but my primary residence is 0.75 miles from the beach in the Northeast (Maine). At some point I'm pretty sure we'll move one more time for a career opportunity, at which point this becomes the 2nd home and an investment. We weren't really part of the housing bubble or the collapse here - things just kind of kept moving along at reasonable rates of appreciation. As a result, there aren't any bargains here, but I know a few people with similarly located homes renting them by the week in the summer to tourists and keeping them completely vacant from October-April. I'd like to get another property up here. Now, if you're talking about market investments, do yourself a favor and diversify. Just hold indexes and keep your expenses low if you don't quite know what you're doing.
That said, disclaimer, I'm not financially independent. I very much need my job, as I have a mortgage and student debt from law school, plus a child and probably having 1 more in the next couple of years. I'm nearly certain I'll never be financially independent, since I'm really trying to set that up for my children instead. I have no idea what college will cost in 15-20 years, but I see the direction it's headed and my financial plans are more around making sure they come out of school debt free. My folks did that for me, but then I was dumb enough to go to law school in 2005. I really can't complain, I have a pretty solid career doing fintech and data for a large company, but it's one major expense I could have avoided and been okay - although it does check the "advanced degree" box. I have some side projects and more coming, but if I make a few dollars there, it goes directly to my kids' savings. I do have US and EU passports, so there's potentially that option for retirement with affordable healthcare and housing, but that's projecting years down the road.