Trouble with ~/Applications folder and moving applications on macOS Ventura

I recently encountered some issues with the ~/Applications folder on my macOS system and need some guidance on how to resolve them. Here's what happened: 1. I contacted Apple Support, and a technical advisor informed me that it is not possible to change the default location for saving applications, and they will be stored directly on the disk instead of the ~/Applications folder. They mentioned that there's no workaround for this. (In retrospect, I think he misunderstood the issue, or did not know the answer and kept repeating what the docs told him.) 2. The ~/Applications folder keeps reappearing periodically, even after I delete it. Consequently, some of my applications, like Chrome Apps, were mistakenly downloaded to the ~/Applications folder instead of the designated Applications folder directly on Macintosh HD. This has resulted in a messy situation. I'm seeking assistance with the following: 1. How can I safely move all my applications from the Applications folder to the ~/Applications folder? I want to ensure that system applications remain intact, and any new user accounts created have access to the standard system applications. In other words, a fresh boot install. When new users are created right now, all my user-installed apps are contained in the new boot. 2. Is there a way to diagnose why this ~/Applications folder reappears repeatedly and why applications are being saved in the wrong location sometimes? I'm keen to understand the root cause to prevent it from happening again in the future. Edit: I would like to consolidate the "Applications" folder into a single location, specifically "~/Applications". In Question 2, it was assumed that all my applications are already in the "Applications" folder on Macintosh HD. However, certain apps like Chrome Apps are installed in the "~/Applications" folder. My assumption is that Chrome searches for the "Applications" folder in the root directory, and if it's not found there, it instructs the Mac to create one in order to download those apps.