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Welcome!
A 6" f8 or 8" f6 Dob will last you a lifetime. Go the 8" if you can afford it. Get some good star charts, many are free but I still recommend Sky Atlas 2000.0 Deluxe. There is also Sky Atlas 2000.0 Companion which lists every object in the charts. The 8", Sky Atlas & Companion will blow your $500 but that is all you will need for a while, except a red torch too ($20).
Note the charts wont show the planets but a free program such as Stellarium will show you where they are and also give you the co-ordinates which you can cross reference with your atlas.
Forget GOTO for now. It's expensive and I feel you don't learn the sky as much since you never really navigate the charts yourself to get from object to object. You can always add Argo Navis to your Dob later which is really the ultimate in semi-goto (push to) technology.
Enjoy!
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