GET THE LONG ARM!! I have heard from too many people who have had issues with the latest and greatest from Bernina ( the 830 ).......If you decide (after purchasing the long arm ) that you would like to do machine embroidery - there are always previously owned machines that you can purchase at a significantly discounted price! Wilson's in Hagerstown, MD (certainly not the cheapest by any means) has trade-in models that are one down from their current top of the line Pfaff that have been checked out by their technicians - t hat are listing for less than 50% of the price of a new machine...........and this is a dealer............You can ALWAYS find a deal on an embroidery machine, but being able to buy a long arm does not happen frequently........
Just my humble opinion.........