UND_Flyer gave some pretty sound advice as far as a time frame goes.
Regarding which location to train at... it's completely up to you. The housing is free so it really shouldn't matter.
If you are tired of the east coast... then go to Riverside or Sacramento. If you like the sun then hit PHX or JAX... If you like wide open airspace and want experience flying DP's & STARS then hit the DFW location... If you want to be near the beach then hit Daytona or Stuart... If you want to be closer to home then go to DC. Etc...
That's the beauty of it all... same planes... and same program at each location.
You'll find that everyone has their opinions about which is best... and it's usually the location that they chose to go to.
I'm no different... I'm partial to the DFW location. Regardless of what location you choose... you will probably see a good majority of the locations on your cross country flights anyway.
Bob
PS: Go Terriers!
