[MrFlippant]

Getting in person help from an experienced 3DP person can jump start your enjoyment of the hobby. Sure, you can learn everything on line, and/or by trial and error, but no matter how many videos you watch or pages you see with high res photos... doing it and seeing it in person is always better. Maybe when you get to the point of pulling the trigger on a purchase, someone in the region would be willing to make a day trip over to yours to show you the ropes and get your first print going.

If I had had someone on hand to show me exactly what a good first layer REALLY looked like in real life, and how to confirm that it's good the next time I want to run a print, I would have skipped a bunch of learning the hard way. With two local friends that I helped with their first printers (actually, one was his second, upgrading from Creality to Prusa), I was there for the entire "maiden flight" part, and could ensure that calibration was on point, and explain to them what they are looking at and why it looks like that and how to make sure it stays like that.

Sorry, I can't be there for your first printer. ;-) Well.. not unless you have one by end of April early May, and I can tear myself away from sightseeing. ;-)