New to Rabanastre!

New player, although I'm somewhat fortunate in that I have a lovely axe wielding mithra to chase around and cure so it makes things easier. Reading some threads, starting to get a feel for things, but experienced hands can answer these questions:

1.)Where can I purchase a linkshell in Limsa Lominsa, and what is the initial cost? It was decided to name reserve a personal linkshell for friends who are expecting to join; as I can have up to 8 I see no problem with this.

2.)As a player who started as a conjuror and would like to try his hand at botany. Am I correct that a Bronze Hatchet is my best bet for doing this? If so, how will it's Rank 7 nature effect my leveling?

3.)How useful is food in this game, compared to its FFXI counterpart? Will I actively be derided if I join a pick-up party and find myself without food?

4.)How feasible is it to take most, if not all, of the DoH jobs to level 10ish? How usable would they be? I ask this not as a "I intend to level these jobs" so much as to get a general guide of which ones I may level together, and which I may hold off on.

Thank you all for your time and consideration. If you're on Rabanastre, don't be surprised to get a smarmy IC character response as I enjoy the game to its fullest.

1. One of the NPCs in each adventurer's guild gives out linkshells for free. In fact there should be a special icon for them on the map as of the most recent patch. In Limsa the NPC is on the Upper Decks.

2. Technically you should start with the Weathered Hatchet sold by an NPC, but it won't make a big difference. You'll hit rank 7 quickly.

3. Most food has only minor effects, so you don't see people using food that often. The fact that food effects aren't very clearly laid out probably doesn't help.

4. Very feasible. I did that early on, well before I got any class to rank 30. You can pick up some very useful crafting abilities that way, particularly Preserve (ALC10).