Hey James, here are the questions that I considered and recommend anyone new ask themselves before buying a machine:
-Do you have a specific hobby or type of part that you're wanting to make?
-Is this to be a hobby or a something you want to make money from?
-How much space do you have?
-What kind of timeframe do you have?
-What skills are you trying to learn?
In choosing a machine, the type of part (size, material, tolerances) you want to make is going to have the biggest influence on your decision. If this is going to be just a hobby, you'll have less financial pressure to get a reliable machine, but you may still find yourself frustrated or outgrowing your machine if you get something that's not quite appropriate for the parts you want to make. Also, if space is a concern when you choose your machine, don't forget to count on space for tooling, max machine travels, controller, coolant, etc. It starts to add up quickly, and even a small machine like a Taig will quickly outgrow a small space.
The next thing you may want to really consider is what type of skills you'd like to learn. CNC machining involves general machining knowledge, fixturing, tooling, 3D modeling, and toolpath creation. Most of those skills can be learned (perhaps better) on manual machines. Depending on your goals, timeframe, and budget, taking machining and CNC classes at a local tech school or buying a manual mill and converting it to CNC can be good ways to learn skills and not pick up bad habits - especially before you buy a machine that you may outgrow.
For me, my intro to machining was learning on my then employer's Taig mini mill. I used it over the course of 4 or 5 years to create hundreds of parts out of plastic and aluminum, and it was very handy to have something to make small prototypes in a short amount of time. At that point, I knew I wanted a machine of my own at home to support my hobbies, make prototypes, and perhaps do a side job here and there. I began saving towards a machine and started researching options. I went back to school for my Master's degree and decided to take a couple of machining courses to help give me learn more about machining in general. At a new job, my employer had a Bridgeport manual mill and a small Levil CNC mill that I ended up rebuilding. The manual mill and CNC skills I had picked up proved extremely valuable to my employer. At this point, I planned out the space for a new mill. I considered Tormach, Novakon, and converting a Grizzly and decided to go with the Novakon Pulsar. To do it again, I would have saved up more and gone with something a smidge bigger like the Novakon Torus or Tormach 1100MX, but I am overall happy with my Pulsar. I had considered getting a Taig or smaller machine like the Tormach 440, but I knew I would outgrow it and be frustrated by the smaller envelope and lack of rigidity.
I hope this helps your decision!
Micah