Linux Set Up

sudo apt-get install nodejs
sudo npm install -g typescript
sudo npm install -g react-native-cli
sudo npm install -g yarn
sudo apt-get install libc6:i386 libncurses5:i386 libstdc++6:i386 lib32z1 libbz2-1.0:i386
sudo apt-get install qemu-kvm libvirt-bin ubuntu-vm-builder bridge-utils
sudo adduser `whoami` kvm
sudo adduser `whoami` libvirtd
sudo su - $USER
wget -P /tmp/ https://dl.google.com/dl/android/studio/ide-zips/2.3.1.0/android-studio-ide-162.3871768-linux.zip
sudo unzip /tmp/android-studio-ide-162.3871768-linux.zip -d /opt
echo 'export ANDROID_HOME=~/Android/Sdk' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
/opt/android-studio/bin/studio.sh

To start the simulator run Android Studio, open the Android Virtual Device Manager from the toolbar and create/run a device (probably a Nexus 5 with Android 6). You can then start the react-native server and start the app.