Suggestions and comparisons for a .NET developer on learning Python

So I'm embarking on a new adventure, that of learning Python, and I'm trying to get some insights on...well, the questions I don't know enough to ask. So here's a list of what I'm trying to accomplish and perspectives/suggestions I'm hoping to gather from the EE community:

Your thoughts on:
  1. Embracing an incredibly loose language (I'm not used to that).
  2. Picking up learning techniques and perspectives which:
        a. Lend themselves to writing code for a broad variety of settings (ie. AI development, microcontroller coding (RPi, Arduino), robotics, IOT). I don't want find out later that I've wasted my time (eg. find out that I should have stuck with Python inside Visual Studio instead of going to the trouble of learning Pycharm -- or a similar kind of misstep).
  3. Biggest surprises and gotcha's coming from the .NET world to Python.  
  4. Anything else you can think of that I really need to know to make Python easier to pick up and make me the most versatile Python coder I can be.

By the way, I've not done any Raspberry Pi or Arduino coding yet (or AI stuff) yet. I'm a programmer by trade, just not in those areas.