Well, I have a Janome 9000, a Babylock Ellageo and a Babylock Sofia, and a Brother PE 770 - bought in that order and purchased over the last 20 years. They ALL still run well and they are all easy to operate as long as you read the manuals and take your time and practice and keep your laptop by your side for help from YOUTUBE and this board (grin).. Got the Janome in 1995. Moved up to the Ellageo in 2001 for a larger embroidery field. The Sofia is a lightweight machine to take to classes. The PE 770 was purchased just last January so I could use a USF flash drive to transfer embroidery designs (and because I was feeling sorry for myself after a health issue arose. Over those years I have learned that dealer support is important but not required. My Brother PE 770 was bought over the web. I did take training classes for my first one - the Janome, but my Babylock dealer was not all that helpful - except to sell! Why do I keep all the machines? Because my dealer would not make decent trade-in offers, and I would not give them away to them. I would rather at some point donate them to people who would really appreciate them. The other important thing to consider is that the Bernina is fairly proprietary in its software, accessories, etc. and pretty pricey. But I am sure it is also a good machine. So I agree with everyone else - go try them all out and see what feels good to you AND THEN GO FOR IT!