It’s super awesome to see another iNatter from BC who has a similar mindset that I do! I tend to have “wishlist species” I see other folks see but I haven’t. I want to log as many species as I can within the Metro Vancouver area, much smaller area though! Pleasure to see this thread!
I use a different approach for my unobserved target species. I made a list to compile the species that I have been keeping an eye out for and observe in the future! I call it my “iNat Wishlist”! The one minor frustration is that for some reason the list doesn’t update when I do eventually find them, I think at this point I’ve observed around 20-30/50 of these (the most recent is Dog Vomit Slime Mold for those curious!).
Link for anyone whose curious: https://www.inaturalist.org/lists/4427106-iNat-Wishlist
In terms of your second question, I use observation maps to help inform new places within the city to help find new places to explore!