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Hi Brett & welcome to the forum;
Only advice I tend to give on telescopes is buy the one you think you will actually use.. there is no One perfect does it all scope, they all have there strengths & weaknesses both optically & practicality wise.
10" Dob will certainly give you stunning views but, if you can, go & physically see one so you can understand what you might be getting yourself into with regard to moving it around... not saying you won't like it but, only reading reviews & seeing pictures doesn't give you a great understanding of what you will actually be handling... again, not saying anything bad but, you might decide when you've seen these scopes up front & personal that a different scope is best for you.... or you might decide that absolutely the 10" dob is indeed the scope for you.
8" dob won't disappoint either for that matter but, just might be a bit cheaper & a bit easier to handle in order to get started...
With regard to budget & goto... I'm a lazy guy... I love goto... but, now 11 years in, I've decided it's time to learn the sky properly.. My 12" dob doesn't have goto but, it does have digital setting circles & a Nexus DSC so, the only thing is, I'm the motor & it doesn't track... but, that doesn't bother me at all...
If you are considering goto or, you are in a hurry to just see stuff & learn where & what later, then goto is a great investment. Just be aware, you might save money by factoring it into your budget from the get go... to add it on later, first of all, you need to make sure you bought the dob that can have one fitted & secondly, right now, it will cost you around $1500 to buy a Skywatcher kit to add on vs maybe $1100 or so if you buy it with the scope in the first place.
Other thing to do is to peruse the classifieds on here.. some good bargains pop up.. just do your homework & if you can, go take a good look at the scope before you commit.. folk on here can advise you on what to look for & generally speaking, if you are buying from someone with a long history on this site, you will generally be getting top quality/condition gear.. just remember the old, 'buyer beware'...
Have a read of some of the beginner stickies (threads at the top) & browse through the beginners forum in general.. absolute wealth of knowledge to start reading up.. also, don't hesitate to ask questions on here... lots of friendly & very knowledgable people who are more than happy to share their knowledge with you.
Enjoy your new hobby.. you will love it, it will absolutely mesmerise you...
Cheers
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