New Player - Recruitment Code and Other Questions

Hello all. I'm rather liking FFXIV and have decided to go ahead and purchase. I have a few questions before I mash the Checkout button:

Purchase and Code questions:

• Does the initial purchase of the game count toward the Recruitment Code items for the recruited person?
• On the SE store page, it lists the PC download for $29.99 and the PC version for $25.99. Does that mean that I'll pay less (not including shipping) for a hard copy of the game, versus a download?
• If it does mean that the download is, in fact, more than the disk mailed to me, is there a way to use the Recruitment Code in conjunction with a Steam purchase of the game? The download there is still $25.99.

General Game Questions:

• On the NA servers, in your opinion which couple are more laid back (less elitism)?
• Any tips on things that you wish someone had told you when you first started?

Thanks in advance for your help!

No, the recruitment and friend bonuses come from your first 1 or 6 month subscription to the game. Where or who you purchase the game from does not matter. On that note however, the first free month does not count towards any rewards as you have technically not subscribed until after your first month. Keep in mind though, it is possible for players then to immediately get all 6 months worth of rewards when they sign up for that many months.

As far as NA servers go, there probably will be nothing better than the server your friends are on (assuming you have friends already on Faerie). If you're thinking about recruiting friends in though or moving to a new a server that might suit them, I know Leviathan is a very active server. There doesn't seem to be too much elitism voiced out, but the majority of players are close to the cutting edge of endgame (at least in the server partyfinder). That means it may be more difficult for you to find parties for content you want to tackle, but you may also meet some nice players willing to help.
If you are running a dungeon for the first time, try to get your friends, LS, or FCmates to help. They will have a lot more patience to help walk you through all the necessary components in the boss fights. It's gotten a little better because of the myth bonus, but running dutyfinder alone can still be unforgiving for new players, especially tanks and for certain dungeon mechanics.

I actually don't have any friends in the game yet. The 2-week trial period has several community-based restrictions, probably to cut back on RMT.
Those being, no whispers, no inviting to parties, no LS, no FC, no GC. There may be more that I was unaware of. Those restrictions meant that even when I met someone and we had fun, I could friend them but never whisper them to say hi. Maybe they thought I was rude, by not whispering? I dunno if the general population is aware of the restrictions placed on the 2-week trial folks.

While you can not join a free company, you are able to join a linkshell to chat with other people :)

I was not aware of those limitations, although I'm not surprised seeing it on an mmo game either. I'm not certain why you aren't able to invite to parties, but the rest seems designed to cut down spam. Anyway, I thought you might have had a friend in the game already because of the recruit-a-friend program. Best of luck out there, and if you're ever on Leviathan (you may have to create the char at an off-hour), feel free to look for my character.