Hi Dave and welcome!!
Galaxies are tricky little devils as they have very low surface brightness so are very easily washed out by light pollution. Despite this I would be surprised if you couldn't get NGC 253 it least partially. M33 is another matter. I live in a country town of 10000 and wouldn't even bother trying unless it was an exceptional night. It really is a dark sky object. One other to try which is getting better over the next couple of months is M104. About as bright as a galaxy can get.
As for eyepieces my usual advice to beginners is try using the ones you have as much as possible. It is very easy to spend a lot of $$$ and not really achieve much. Yes the Ethos line is wonderful, as you can see by my sig i have a few!
and one of my observing friends has recently purchased a couple of them after borrowing mine.
BUT it is a significant investment. Best idea is try to get along to some observing nights and see what others are using.
Malcolm