If you once engaged ERE and settled near their borders it is best to kick them out of Europe to get rid of their strikes. For money it might be useful to grab Krete too. The Aegeis, the area around Cypris.. these are the usual milkcows in RTW. For the Goths these 2 areas are not too pretty, because you had to go in nowadays Turkey to gain all the benefits its offers. But European coastline of ERE including Krete is fine in with your starting strategy.

I prefer to go Horde with the Goths. Make a few spys and some archers during the first ticks, milk my homeland and then pack and sack whatever you can sack on my way west. You will get no benefit in killing other Hordes. Leave them alone in the east, jump in front of them. Most Hordes move very slow and fight over very long time in the Balkans and north of Italy. Jump in front of them. There are better fishes to fry west of that, belive me. I already made my points for this strategy in the Vandal and Frankish threats. It pleases me more then to stick in the Balkans where many fractions will come to cross.