And how profitable is forging? How much will I get from 1000 NXT?
Not a lot: you can check on the
NXT forging calculator.
There are though two lotteries going on. The
5 Million NXT forging bounty and
Lucky node. You might win something around 50 occasionally (even when not making a block).
Setting up a node is rather simple - one can do it on a rasperry pi, or rent a server for 3 bucks a month (which doesn't pay off with 1000NXT, but supports the network, so helps the investment).