Town Home as Investment Questions

Hey guys, I have reas quite a few threads on this board and notices there are some pretty knowledgeable people lurking. I had a few questions for yall. First off I'm in the market for a new home, I am 25 and single and looking to spend up to 200k but would like to stay in the 170-180 range. I travel a good bit for work and may be away from months at a time. This makes me lean towards a town home, due to there be no outside maintenance. My plan is to buy a town home and live in it for a few years until I'm ready to settle down and have a family and move to a job position where I won't be traveling as much. I would then rent out my town home. So, I'm coming to yall for questions about rental property, is it a pain in the arse? I am currently looking at. 2 bedroom with an office and a true 3 bedroom, are the returns on a 3 bedroom that much greater then the 2 bedroom? Obviously, the price on the 2 bedroom is lower and I would have a lower note. However, in the long run the 2 bedroom won't rent for as much as the 3 bedroom correct? Pretty much the big question for yall is as an investment is it smart to go ahead and spend the extra 10k or so and get the 3 bedroom or stick with the 2 bedroom? I would obviously like to rent it out and actually make money on the rent instead of it just covering the mortgage on the home. Let me here some of yalls thoughts. Thanks.