Help me find the right CDL School and Company for me

I have been lurking on here for the past couple of weeks just absorbing information. I do not have my CDL and my only truck driving experience is with straight trucks (26 foot box truck) when I had a moving business. I have been self employed with a different non truck related business for many years now but Covid basically wiped it out and I not expect the industry to recover for years so I decided to get into OTR. I am currently trying to determine what is the best path forward for me so I would like to ask for any help you guys/gals can provide and sorry in advance if this is a long post, I just want to provide enough info so you can fully understand what I am trying to do.

1. CDL School, open to either paying it out of pocket or attending a company owned school. Only concern is solid training.
2. Location, currently a resident of WA state but recently sold my house and willing to move pretty much anywhere to claim residency as I plan to live in the truck full time so location is not really important. Only real preference is a state without an income tax simply so I can save more money.
3. I would very much prefer to go with a company that allows the driver to stay out long term, not sure how many trucking companies actually limit this but wanted to make it clear that I am not looking to get home weekly.
4. Pay rate vs weekly/monthly pay. I see some pretty large spreads in terms of the CPM rate between companies but when people talk about what they actually get paid it seems to be closer regardless of the listed CPM. I am not concerned with the CPM rate but I am very, very much concerned with making more money so pay is a big factor to me as opposed to home time.
5. Alaska and Canada runs. I have looked into this some but have not really found much info. How common is it for trucking companies located in the lower 48 to deliver to Alaska and Canada and if so am I right to assume you get more miles so you make more money?
6. Leaning toward flatbed but open to whatever works best for me. I am attracted to the flatbed option for two reasons. #1 Money, it seems they get paid more on average, #2 Physical work, I just like the idea of getting some physical exercise along the way.
7. Not a deal killer but I would prefer a company that runs automatics and allows you to have a pet.

So with all of that said what I am basically asking is what companies tend to keep you out longer, what ones would I end up making the most money with. I know it is not possible but what I am looking for is a trucking company that accepts new drivers, has great training, runs flatbeds, has long runs, allows you to run long term, and pays the best..lol I know this is not possible to find an exact fit so I am just looking for help to narrow things down a bit.

Thanks in advance for any help!.

 

I never even considered the possibility of taking a pet across international lines. Good point.

 

Yes, Nevada is another good option. Not concerned at all about the drug test.