Welcome to the team!
1. There is a Facebook group that was pretty strong when I came through class but I’ve heard is getting weaker as time goes on with people in your situation. F9 Poolies. It may provide you with some help in addition to posting here. I rented a basement with a few others and it worked out great. Many are staying at the courtyard as I heard they are giving out a rate if you book the entire two months. Having a car there for training is pretty useful but You have a much farther distance to cover than I did.
The rest have all been answered but we had people holding a line after only a month on reserve in the Tampa base. You can bid into any base, except Denver, within 2-4 months after training currently. Reserve vs holding a line is a different story.
I haven’t flown with a crew member I haven’t liked yet. I hope you find our small team as enjoyable as I have.