Oh! I didn't even weigh in on the crafting question and that's what I mainly do.

If you want to get serious about crafting you will unfortunately need to level pretty much every class. I use a cross class ability from each class except leatherworker for my crafting rotation. (My rotation is a bit odd, most others do prioritize leatherworker). I always recommend that newbie crafters level CUL, then CRP, then ALC.