Buying a house in the US with plans to live abroad

Have you ever owned a home? Are you familiar with the costs associated with maintenance, taxes, repairs, management company for not on site owner when renting out? Are you familiar with rights and obligations of a landlord in WA?

I am not familiar with the specifics,  and have never owned a home before.

Purchase, closing costs, taxes, HOA, insurance including renter and liability, landscape service, utilities, leasing company, cleaning lady, padding for repairs, down time, vandalism/theft. Do the numbers - how much house do you need to make profit?

It sounds like a bad idea for me. As @twostep already said, it's such a pain to keep your home in a good condition, even if you're going to buy it just for renting purposes.
I'd recommend you to think twice on your goals, it seems like you're quite uncertain. Where are you going to live in next few years? Get rid off "if I would live abroad indefinitely or just for a short time". It's a serious decision, after all.

Purchase a Co-op with a liberal subletting policy... All you would be liable for is the maintenance which includes your taxes, upkeep and amenities. You can boost your ROI buy purchasing a parking spot, storage unit and cable / internet bundle, and re renting it out to your tenant or neighbors. I personally bought a Co-op in NYC 10 years ago (at the end of high school) for $65,000 with 10% down and have rented it out since day one. Its now worth 6 times the amount and I still have never lived in it. Allot of people will say Condos but honestly your using up your first time home owner loan and your still on the hook for property taxes. Purchase a Co-op in Denver, West Palm Beach, The Bronx, Staten Island, Baltimore or by a military base in South Carolina. If your serious about in investment you cant have a bias about where it is. Its all about strong appreciation and the zoning of the city. Im an ex urban planner before I started traveling trust me on those locations!