O.K. so it will cost you more money to live in Fort Collins. So that may not work for you.
On the topic of teaching. I am not a teacher. I have done a minute amount of teaching. What I have learned is that the beginning is the roughest. I had to learn so much at the beginning but once I learned it, it was learned and you could use it over and over and over again. So teaching can get easier with time.
But you are not restricted to teaching. There are many careers. When I was going to high school and college, I held a wide variety of jobs. Each one was interesting, different. Some of these jobs I was really good at. So since the school year is coming to an end, perhaps you have the summer to try a different job, one that is more in line with your special skills.
Special Skills - you wrote "comics, toys, education, photography, travel".
For example, maybe you could find a job as a photographer, taking wedding or child photographs. You might begin as an assistant and learn the trade and then make your own business.