Your response pretty much nails it on the head.

@Daniel Liu  @Kathy Johnson nailed it.

@Gary Parilis nails it.

@Grace Maxwell really nailed the issue you are facing in regards to the stipend income.

While it does take a while to really nail down precise numbers, make sure you're in the ball park.

. :-)Not saying the OP isn't more than capable of nailing the STR thing, but I don't believe it is that easy for most newbies....many more moving parts than LTR.

However, there is a cap on annual increases to taxable value.

Yonah Nailed it. 

So, you should nail those down first and reassess the deal.My $0.02 ...

there's only ONE thing you need to do right now: LASER FOCUS. it sounds like you have not yet lasered in on a strategy or a market. i would suggest lasering in on the strategy first that best suits your skills AND how you want your investing life to look, THEN selecting a market. i did the BP boot camp a few years ago and this was one of the big things they had us do in the beginning, so i'd bet that in ashley kehr's new book it walks you through the process of doing just that. until you nail those two things, i would advise against making any 'money moves.' and keep this in mind: you can be successful with ANY of the strategies, in almost ANY of the markets. it's just a matter of picking one, figuring out how to work it with your unique skills, and going ALL IN. :)