I was going to add, as posted above, it's a great rate and stick with that local credit union for the future business. 

I really want to do local meetups and interact with more advanced investors but don’t know where to start.

I’m open to brokerage inquiries and excited to contribute my skills to the local market.What I'm Looking For:I'm actively seeking "live and flip" opportunities to kickstart my real estate portfolio in Arizona.

Reach out me as I am a local Realtor and can assist you!

Self management works if you are local and can separate emotion from business.

It is hard to really keep up with those kinds of trends unless I budget 10k a year in updating the property which I am not going to do.I participate in our local council/mayor meetings.

There's definitely a few things to note since you are residing in Europe, most of the investors we work with that live over there do put it in an entity but there are a few details for how that would work since you aren't necessarily local. 

Being a part of the local REIAs in both towns can help you understand more of what is going on.  

Go to local meetups, search these forums for people that have mentioned that they do private lending and attend other RE events.

Check out the Events and Meet Ups section for local events in your area.