Not true. People have been migrating from place to place for all of recorded history. Cultural homogeneity is nothing more than a "good ole days" fallacy; it's never really been a thing anywhere, except in the most remote parts of the world.
You don't need to read much ancient literature to know that beards have always been associated with manliness. Going out on a limb here, but my guess is that's because typically only adult men can grow them. Shocking I know.
Anyway, it's not particular to the Renaissance at all.
Eh, if I made 250k/yr I bet I could make it work, especially considering it's only a 4 year obligation.
You have a lot of options at that income level; even if I couldn't come up with 60k/yr straight cash, I could finance part of it over a decade or so any hardly feel it. Also, my kid can take on 20k or so their damn self so they have some skin in the game. 20k is nothing.
It's pretty hard to sympathize tbh, when I've had to work with waaaaay tighter budgets than that for extended periods.
I mean, if I give you a voice recorder, let you record secret stuff on it and give it back to me, do you really think it's reasonable to expect me to never listen to it under any circumstances? Really? It's not a technically complicated thing to think through is it?
If you use any kind of web service at all, any data you send to it that isn't specifically protected by law can and will be monitored and inspected by random employees and contractors who develop and maintain that service.
I would think that goes without saying, but there you go. Now you've been warned.