Welcome to IIS!
Wayne has pretty much said it all but I will add my 2 cents.
For your first scope the 8" SCT is a very good choice for a beginner in terms of aperture and portability. I recently just bought a C8 myself and loved it from day one and I'm sure you will to. The 8" aperture is great for peering deep into the universe but at the smae time wont break the bank.
If you catch the astrophotography bug the advantage you will have is that you already have an EQ mount. The only problem if you want to image DSOs with the C8 is that it has a very long focal length - 2000mm. This gives you a very small FOV but can be easily fixed with a focal reducer.
I would suggest a high power and low power EP to start off with. This will give you a choice of magnification to use. A 2x Barlow is great when you that extra bit of magnification.
Most scopes hold their collimation very well but Bobs knobs should be in your to get list.
Hope this helps and keep asking questions.
