I would be happy to invite you to craft in my area if you would like :). I am based in Aranor in the duchy of Evermist. We also happen to be hosting the first Tournament of Champions there if you care for such things. There should be a lot of work going on for all types of crafters in preparing for the Tournament so you would definitely have a lot of work!

I would suggest starting with the FAQ post and reviewing the biomes, finding what sort of place you want to be in, then review the the kingdoms

If you wish, join their discords and start chatting with people and see where you find like minded people in duchies and their counties.

Basically narrowing down your group to a settlement.

Every area is going to need a wide variety of crafters to support industry. A smith is going to need to get his metals, charcoal, etc from someone. A farmer will need good animals which breeders will supply, for example. It's going to be a very integrated economy with each crafter having to rely on other producers and crafters. I would prioritize finding a group of folks you can get on with at this early stage, as any craft can find a place.

Alas - I'm Luna, "come to the dark side, we have cookies."

cough. but enough of that. Suppose my first question would be what kind of crafting do you enjoy doing?

most in MMO's craft for a specific purpose, in regards to glamour items, new set of armor with a specific niche , consumables for other Trades or Raids.

Money is kind of a given when everyone is limited by time, though in this MMO having an offline character that could accomplish that might see stagnate profit margins for a solo player.

next question would be if you know what crafting type you wish to focus on maybe it would be good to join some of the discords surrounding where you would like to play on the server map... that way you can see what they need.

also if you want to level quickly might consider a larger town/city which has multiple of the same type of crafter in the hopes that you could... "acquire" the knowledge of how they make things. (Harder to do that when your in some off the beaten path village.)

Listen to Sylvae :P

Everyone is going to say "hells yes" if you ask them if they have a need for a crafter (myself included) You should shop around and find what sounds good to you.

People that ask to be recruited are doing the CoE equivalent of walking onto a car dealers lot and announcing that the first person who shows em a car they like is going to have a sale today.

For the record though, I have a strong need for a crafter of ceramics in my county to pair with my alchemical plans. :D