My #1 piece of advice though would be to not give up. I find the most frustrating and unrewarding part of learning an instrument is at the very start. You have to build your foundations from essentially nothing, you have 0 muscle memory built up, and progress can seem non-existent sometimes. But once you get through that initial phase, the sky's the limit! In my experience, it only takes a year or two to get good enough that people will enjoy your playing (provided you practice at a relatively consistent rate over that time).
Have fun!
* A better guitar will be easier to play than a cheaper one. There are obviously rapidly dimishing returns as you go up the cost scale, but the difference between a low-end and medium-end guitar really can make the difference between "easy to play and nice-sounding enough to keep going" and "so frustrating that you give up".
* If at all possible, get your guitar set up. ("Set up" means adjusting the action and intonation.) You can try to do it yourself, but taking it to a pro is well worth it. A cheap guitar with a good set up is easier to play and sounds better than a high-end guitar with a shitty set up.
* Electrics are much easier on your fingers than acoustics. All of the sound energy in an acoustic guitar must come from the strings itself. They therefore need to vibrate farther which means they have to be higher up away from the fretboard. That higher action means it takes more force to push them down, which is what hurts your fingers. Electrics rely on amplification so the strings can be really close to the fretboard and only require a gentle touch.
I hope you have a great time playing! Guitars are engineering marvels.
People tend to use either "Nordic" vs "Alpine" or "Cross-country" vs. "downhill" skiing.
Another hobby I'm looking to pick up to offset the loss of a gym is winter biking. I purchased an electric bike last year and have thoroughly enjoyed riding it long distances in the warmer months on the local trails. I hear that many of the trails are plowed in the winter, so I'm hoping to find safe places to use it that can avoid the ever-present ice.
Bigger problem is gatherings. I already have family talking about Christmas and they just dont understand that things aren't going to be the same this year.
Essentially the whole gathering self-quarantines for two weeks, so that if someone attending has COVID but is not yet showing symptoms, there is plenty of time for them, or those they give it to at the gathering, to start showing. If nobody is showing symptoms at the end of two weeks, people can go home.
If cheap, reasonably speedy testing is available in your area, to be even safer the whole gathering could get tested near the end.