I am also prepared to do a co-living situation, as multi-unit properties are hard to come by, so the market should be a majority of renters and be pretty densely populated. 

So far I've found the people to be extremely friendly and the food/breweries are tough to beat around here.

We can grab a coffee or food.

I don’t know if you’ve read the book “the richest man in Babylon” but it talks about paying yourself first or setting aside at least 10% of your earnings for yourself each month before spending money on anything else, including bills mortgages, food or anything else... when you’ve saved up enough and feel like you know what niche you would like to get into you’ll be able to figure out how to manage your time accordingly and jump in.

It was fantastic time, and the food??

I would absolutely appreciate someone telling me how it is if I was being dense, even if it didn't feel good to hear it.

as @Anthony Angotti Angotti mentioned, it's worth looking into Pittsburgh.Always ranked as one of America's "most livable cities", great amenities, charming neighborhoods, interesting topography, diverse economy, good arts, food & & culture, great sports, relatively protected from natural disasters...it has winters, but not nearly as bad as some more northern cities. 

Has anyone had good luck removing dense, old smoke smells from homes?

Section 513(a) of the National Housing Act, as amended,provides that as long as mortgage insurance is outstanding,no portion of the housing covered by any such mortgage shallbe used for transient or hotel purposes;The Secretary has defined the term transient or hotelpurposes to mean (1) any rental for a period less than 30days, or (2) any rental if the occupants of the housingaccommodations are provided customary hotel services suchas room service for food and beverages, maid service,furnishing and laundering of linen, and bellboy service.Thanks,Ate

Faced with an unfamiliar grill, I will either burn or undercook my food and then I will blame the cheap property owner for not wanting to spend $300 on a real grill.