Welcome from Southern California! If you have a local sewing machine dealer go in and test drive a few different machines. I have a Janome MC6600 that I fell in love with during a test drive. It had a lot of bells and whistles I never used before so was very worried I was spending a lot of money for something I would never use. But I took the classes that came with the machine and learned to use. them. So now I do. So I agree with the idea that buying the best machine you can afford. (That does not mean spend more than you should, just be willing to stretch yourself not your budget.)