First tattoo

I'm thinking about getting my first tattoo, but i have so many questions and kind of don't know where to start.

I would like to do something small that symbolizes freedom, like a small flying bird or similar. Would love to get some more ideas. I'm getting divorced and it's something i had wanted to do for a while, but my stbx husband was very against it.

Also not sure about the location. It should be a bit hidden, so i can decide whether to show it off or not. What is a good and not so painful location that's not super obvious? Shoulder/back maybe?

Also how do i go about finding a good tattoo artist? I don't have many people with tattoos in my circle