In my humble opinion (IMHO) hand quilting looks so beautiful, but you really have to know how to do it. Practice on doll quilts! Even a beginner hand quilted quilt appeals to me more than a machine sewn quilting job. That being said, you really have to love hand quilting to devote the time to learn the craft. It sure is much easier to send our tops to a long armer. And the long arm quilters do beautiful and sturdy work. I use them a lot. Try a quilt both ways and see what you prefer. I would love to see contemporary quilters utilize both methods, depending on the quilt. And there's even a third process, machine quilting yourself. Try that too. There's no reason that your quilts can't be quilted different ways. If you evaluate what your quilt needs, you should be able to come up with a plan.