Hello!
To start, I am new to this forum but have been using it for a little while now, and everyone seems very nice and informed so I want to go over my situation, and any suggestions are greatly appreciated! (This may be long and I do not expect every question I have answered, but literally any help is awesome!)
So I am a college student who goes to school in Syracuse (a bitterly cold place) and lives 5 hours away in the summer. I am very excited as I plan to buy a very young BP at the end of the semester when I go home. I have been doing SO MUCH research, as I want my snake to live a long and happy life, but the more I research the more differing opinions I see online!

Some basic questions I have:
How old should I buy? I really want to see and foster the growth of a male BP (male because it is shorter and apparently less $) as I have heard the process is simply beautiful and I think if I have the snake at as young as possible I will grown even more attached to it, as I will have seen its life nearly entirely (do I sound too much like a dad lol?)
Also, I do not want a normal BP, as that just seems lame with all the morphs available on the market, but I am also a realistic college kid, who cannot spend more than 100$ on the snake itself. What is the normal price to pay for a less typical morph? (I really like black&white Axanthic BP's, but on Morph Market I have seen them for like $700+, and thats just unrealistic for me.) Also, I plan to buy one from a reptile expo on long island, but is that the best route for sure? I hear most likely the snakes there would run me ~25$ which almost seems too good to be true, but I have never been to one. Also, does anyone know of a good expo on LI around the middle/end of May?

Questions pertaining to the care of my BP:
So I plan on using a 20 gallon glass tank, as it seems to be the maximum for babies, and the minimum for adults (I do plan to upgrade the tank eventually, but especially if I buy young, I think the 20 should last me a while [unless I am just dead wrong]). I also plan to use aspen bedding, as it seems to be a reasonable choice when considering price, looks, and function. Is that okay?
I also need to consider the heating a lot. During the winters here it gets really cold, and the house I am living in usually is about 67/68 degrees during the winter. Im thinking if I have the UTH running at all times (on the warm side) connected to a thermostat, I could have a basking light on the warm side and a ceramic heating bulb over the middle of the tank. During the summer, I could use the basking light during the day and the ceramic at night, and use both during the day in the winter, and just the ceramic at night. Does this sound like a good heating plan? And what brand of UTH and thermostat work together? How many watts should the basking light and ceramic heater be?
As far as humidity goes, I am thinking about seeing how it is when i put the hydrometer in because I am not sure of the humidity in general, and if need be I can mist or increase the size of the water bowl, or even put tin foil on the top of the tank to keep in the moisture more.
Also, should I have two hides? One on the cool and one on the warm is what I was thinking, and what are good types of hides to get?
When it comes to feeding I also want to be really sure, as I do not want my BP to have troubles. How soon can I switch from mice to rats? I know rats are more nutritious, but I know a baby BP probably will be too small and will need mice. Also, I want to feed in a separate container, but I know handling the snake after eating is bad? Am i over thinking it and just picking him up after eating and putting him back in his tank is actually not a big deal? Or should I do something to lead him back into the tank on his own?
Another worry I have is transportation. How should I go about bringing him in the car in really cold temperatures for a 5 hour journey?

Any answers/criticisms/tips are highly appreciated. I know the learning process is an ongoing one, but I just want to know as much as possible before I get my snake. Thanks again!