First off, I don’t think you’re crazy, I think you’re making a wise decision in order to save money. Looking at your questions:
1.) There are a lot of good CCs and affordable places for you, although Texas is going to be much more affordable than Cali. How do I know? I was raised in CA and moved here to TX 5 years ago - HUGE difference. My suggestion would be to look at the universities you’d like to transfer to eventually, and then investigate their cost of living, etc. Many universities have transfer agreements in place with their local CCs, and that could be a huge benefit to you.
My personal story: went to school off and on in CA, moved here to Austin for a better quality of life (more affordable as a single mom trying to go to school). Attended Austin Community College from Fall 2006 to Fall 2009 while working full time, accepted as a transfer to UT Austin (if you watch football, we’re the Longhorns) and now I go to school full-time. There are a lot of people here and across the state doing what you have in mind - CC for a couple of years and then transferring. There are other great institutions in this state as well, but I definitely recommend looking at the universities you want to attend overall before deciding where to move.
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Most CCs are going to be relatively affordable, but the universities vary pretty widely. You say that you plan to work your way through all of college - if you plan to work full time, you really should investigate which universities have programs available for working adults, because not all of them cater to a non-trad student and therefore have limited online or evening classes, which could pose a serious problem.
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I think yes, you do have to claim them, but call your target universities to be sure. Most unis require you to submit transcripts for any college courses you took, whether or not you want credit for them (I had a similar situation with some business classes I took as a non-degree seeker, UT didn’t care and made me submit them anyway)
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I think it all depends on what you want to do after college. Taking out 40 grand in loans to get an art degree that you can’t do anything with personally doesn’t sound wise, because you’re setting yourself up for years of stress and financial instability trying to pay those things back. Otherwise I think they can be a great investment if you know what you want to do so you don’t waste time (and money) and are practical about what the future holds career/salary wise.
5.) See intro to this post - you’re not crazy. 