I'm not sure that later versions of Visual Studio require Windows 8. I've run Windows 7 at work with the latest versions of Visual Studio just fine. I'm not going to be all hard on rules so I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you need some help getting things on to MonoGame proper let's chat when things are done and I could probably do a quick port :). Keep on jammin! :)
give 2017 community edition a try... https://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/