I could never afford a long arm but found that I could afford the second best idea.
Buy a good table with a cheap straigt stitch machine and a stitch regulator. It runs about $2000. If I ever have the money for a long arm machine at least I will already have the table and the straight stitch is a great machine for piecing.
The only problem with this set up is the small area you can quilt. A 4 or 5 in pantogram is all you can use.
Its a good beginner system.