Hello, from Midwestern USA. I grew up with an Apple II, but unfortunately had little mentorship or resources to explore programming beyond playing around with BASIC. I picked up software development as a profession in college. Filling in my knowledge gaps about the history of the early days of home computing has been fun. My interest was renewed after stumbling across the 8-bit guy years ago. I am interested in early Apple products, but also Commodore, Atari, and other systems.
I wish I had more time to tinker around with real hardware.
It is hard to find time for me too. I go in phases. When I find time, I use it. And one thing I learned is get your gear when an opportunity comes up. It may never again.
Happened with my Apple. I had snagged cards I wanted, then ended up with a machine.