Our master plan unveiled....(LONG)

Good choices all around.  If I may impart some advice on the salon options.  They make crazy money but you have to be smart about where you open and how you go about it.  My buddies wife is from Dominca and is working on her citizenship.  She came here and started out washing hair in a salon as an assistant.  Eventually learned on the job to style and built up a clientele.  She then decided to open her own salon about 8 months ago.  She found a fully built out salon that had gone out of business.  It was successful under the original owners who sold to the previous owner who didn't have a clue and ran it into the ground.  The landlord not wanting an empty space worked some easy terms and for 18k in supplies, licenses and fee's she was open and running.  That is a huge savings over having to build out a blank store-front from scratch.  In the past 8 months she replaced the 18k they took from the savings account and is averaging $2,500 a week with just one other girl working for her. 

Good luck 'Fredo.