I'm playing it too. I'm only at level 6. There are hardly any friggin Pokemon in my area, but I have got a few cool ones.
I also used the trick to get Pikachu as my first Pokemon. The only problem with that is that as I catch multiples of the common Pokemon in my area, mostly Drowzee's, Jinx's, and Zubats, I can transfer them away and get candy to power them up. But I can't do that with Pikachu! I really wish the candy wasn't species specific.
I also wish that you had to battle the wild Pokemon to catch them like the old games. That was how you usually raised the XP of your Pokemon. I've only gone to a gym a few times because I keep getting annihilated because most of my Pokemon just aren't strong enough!
I found a way to check for the Pokemon in your area. Go to
Pokevision.com to see what's out there.
