Plus unlike Meshtastic that ties your ID to the device MAC, with MC you can re-roll new Identities every time you hit the streets.

TBH just get a heltec and try them both. Reflashing is easy and you can go back and forth however much you want. IME MeshCore has been consistently better for the use case of "actually getting a message out to another human being"

You live in Portland, look into MeshCore instead! MT is kind of a shit show.