Learning Catalan (or Occitan?)

Recently, I have become interested in learning Catalan. I thought about learning Occitan, because it seems rather interesting. I did visit some pages online, and I learned about the Occitan pronunciation and a few frases. After a bit of thinking, I thought about the importance of each of these languages. Occitan, though definitely no less important, is concentrated is a region in the south of France. To actually converse in this language, one would have to visit Occitania and find someone willing to speak it. The unfortunate thing is that this language does not carry much prestige, so even if one were to find someone who does speak it, there is no guarantee that the person will feel the need to do so. Catalan, on the other hand, is official in the region where it is spoken. Pride is taken by those who speak it as a native tongue. The media, including on the internet, is quite vast.
With this, I took the decision of learning Catalan, rather. I am venturing myself into the world of self-teaching once again, and armed with solely the resources that the internet has to offer, I am positive I can do it.