I really felt behind the whole application season for my S last year. In the end it all worked out just fine. Hang in there!
UNM has a lot of opportunities for research. https://scholarship.unm.edu/scholarships/non-resident.html
Universities tend to be diverse communities with policies to promote tolerance and have their own islands of culture. Huntsville is a growing area with a lot of people from across the country settling there. Toledo is much more like southern Michigan than southern Ohio. https://www.businessinsider.com/the-11-nations-of-the-united-states-2015-7