My plan as well. 
^ This.
Just adding to cuberdon’s post, and refuting the suggestions of washing your hair every day: I couldn’t get my (now waist-length) hair past shoulder-length until I started washing it every 7-10 days.
And HeyHomie, take note of the cleansing tips from MickNickMaggies 
Check out “Hair Freaky” on Facebook.
He never trims his hair and I think he has it now touching the ground.
Here are my tips (from a guy who’s had long hair since high school, back in the mid-70s):
Grow it long enough to put a ponytail rubber band in. Then you can just step out of the shower, run a comb through it, put the rubber band in, and you’re done. That’s your whole hair-care routine right there. It’s as easy to take care of as a crew cut, except that you never have to go to a barber.
I don’t worry too much about products. Cheap stuff seems to work fine. Shampoo and (most of the time, unless I forget) conditioner, rinse, I’m done.
Roderick Femm’s advice might be good. Maybe I should take it (I’m in my 50’s – a little bit of gray, not much, not bald). But I’m used to this, and it’s easy.
I don’t think you can generalize based on what you look like with long hair. But yeah, long hair on a guy in his 40s or 50s generally makes you look like a medieval lord (which I guess is the look the OP is going for). And perfect long hair on a guy in his 40s or 50s makes you either look like Fabio or a weirdly strung out 29 year old.
I tend to keep my hair longish (I’m 40), but it’s more Bradley Cooper length than Aragorn length. Even with some grey, it looks better on me than short hair.
Also, my hair guy recommends not shampooing every day. It dries your hair out. And condition, condition, condition.
Start looking for a good cutter now, and keep changing until you find one that knows what they are doing with MEN’S long hair. Most only know how to shape women’s hair and you will get a “feminine” cast that looks like shit.
Don’t plan on just growing it out and doing nothing but occasionally chopping off some length. A good cut, well maintained, is even more important with long hair than short. It’s the difference between looking badass stylish and plain slobbo.
Going on 35 years of long, full and shaggy… but never just looking too lazy to get it cut.
What if I don’t work in a comic book store?
I’ve only had one hair cut since '91 and that was two tears ago during chemo. I wash twice a week in summer and once a week in winter. I trim the ends myself while in the shower. Use a ponytail tie to keep it out of the way when I not letting my freak flag fly. Brush from the ends first and work your way up.
Not everybody looks good with long hair. If it turns out looking bad, you’ve got options.
Then I’m sorry. I know lots of people have had to take shitty jobs during these economic hard times, rather than doing something enjoyable for a living.
Most people take shitty jobs rather than do something enjoyable for a living no matter how the times are.
I’m female, but hair’s hair, and my hair’s juuust long enough to sit on.
I wash mine once or twice a week, unless it’s visibly dirty; daily washing really does make it more brittle. I haven’t trimmed it in 14 years, and I get regular unsolicited compliments on it from random people, so I don’t think it looks bad. I do as little as possible to mine other than brush it, and wash it (I’ve been using the same shampoo for the last 4 years, which doesn’t seem to need a conditioner), and that seems to be fine. If I wanted to grow it longer, tying it up seems to help, as it stops the ends getting damaged so much, but I’m fine with it as it is, so I rarely bother.