I was going to suggest a Brother "beginner" machine for around $100+, and I will still suggest that for a light weight traveling machine, but you are looking for higher end than that.
Even so, take a look at Brother machines. Mine are all good machines, and I buy the low end machines. So far, only one has failed me, and it failed after taking a tumble from the back of the car to the ground. Not the machines fault.
Brother manuals are well written, and cover the sewing basics as well as advanced stuff. They have customer support line availability, as well.
In the end, though, you and only you can decide what is best for you. Happy hunting!