I've read quite a few questions and answers on here about having one or two remote members as well as a few about having the entire game remote. I have a related, but slightly different question.
We have a group of 7 people who have never played D&D (or any other tabletop RPGs) before and who would like to start playing D&D 5e. I'm planning on being DM, and I'm really looking forward to it (as are the rest of the members in the group), but we have a slight location problem: I'm going to be in a different state for the next couple of months, and we wanted to start now instead of waiting a few months to start. (A quick note: after I return, two of our other members will be remote (one full-time and one about every other session), so waiting won't entirely fix the issue anyway.)
I understand that people who are experienced and have played together in the past are having success with one or two remote players, and that it is possible to play the entire game online. We do want the social feeling of a physical, in-person tabletop RPG, so we're not looking for an all-online answer, but I'm essentially wondering two separate things:
First, how possible is it to run a partially-remote game when none of us have played D&D before? Are there any tips you'd recommend above and beyond those that experienced players would use to play partially-remote games?
Second, how well does a partially-remote game work when the DM is the one remote, rather than the players? Does anyone have experience with this? How did you deal with it and how well did it work out?
Any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks in advance for any answers, advice, or tips!