1- it comes down to adjustability, comfort, and your long term goals in terms of sim racing. I started with mounting my wheel base to the desk, then when I got more serious into it, went with a GT Omega Pro cockpit, and recently upgraded to 8020...if you think you'll get very serious and into it, maybe 8020 is the right starting point...it'll be more expensive initially, but they hold their resale value, very adjustable and solid. Check our ASR.
https://www.advancedsimracing.com/ - their 8020 lite, start at 450 CDN...really well priced if you can swing it, I have an ASR6 and no complaints
2- VR is amazing and immersive and I miss it but heads up, some people get really sick, so try one before you buy one if you can - I initially went VR and when I got more into endurance racing switched to triples. AC works well in VR, and so does iRacing...the only one that I found was kind of shitty was ACC (Assetto Corsa Competizione). It just needs a lot of HP to run. You will 'grow' your VR legs with more VR usage. In terms of button usage, you will build the muscle memory. A big downside is being so immersed, you tend to cut out the outside world (calls, messages, etc)