I've had tenants who had no idea how to clean the outdoor laundry dryer vent or how to lift up and clean the stove top.Plan for the worst case.

They keep their unit neat as a pin, nice furniture, etc.

There are companies that will deliver rental furniture and you could do short term furnished rentals.

We are thinking of finding some nice furniture on Craigslist and having a photographer friend take professional photos, then listing on all the VRBO websites at around $250 per night.  

Outdoor seating.9.

If it was vacant, I'd probably need to replace the whole carpet.But, if somebody came in now and saw it with the current tenant living there, they probably wouldn't notice a thing with the tenant's furniture and rugs covering up those patches.Let's say a prospective tenant checks the place while the current tenant is still living there, doesn't see any problems with the carpet and likes it enough to sign a lease.What happens when the new tenant moves when its vacant and notices the problems with the carpet?

I had two clients, a married couple that had been antique dealers for over 30 years come over quickly and found the furniture which I thought were reproductions were actually real, they estimated the contents of the home to be worth at least $300,000 dollars, and this was in 1984 dollars. 

When a tenant is staying for a year, trust me there will be damage to the furniture.

Anytime furniture gets moved, walls get dinged.

As for culture shock, its not too bad if you enjoy the outdoors and don't mind a simple life.