How well do you know the night sky Tim? To get the most from any scope its good if you can already find your way around the main constellations and recognise the brightest stars by name.
I constantly surprised how frequently I hear people yelling out "Is that star Arcturus?" - you'll need to know at least a handful of stars to align a GOTO mount.
In general Dobs are king for visual bang for buck, but you'll eventually need a quality equatorial mount to do serious astrophotography.
The great thing about attending a few night sky meetings is you can also see what different people are doing with their gear and get a feel for what appeals to you most.
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