Hi Andrew,
As a starting telescope for visual astronomy it's very hard to do better than something like these
8 inch or
10 inch collapsible tube dobsonians. They give you enough aperture to see things and give aesthetically nice views of the planets, moon and showpiece DSO's and aren't too difficult to store and transport. Add a couple of better quality eyepieces than the supplied plossls and you're good to go with change from your $1,500. You might want to shop around for the best deal pricewise. I just used these links to show you the scopes I was recommending. I can tell you that Steve at My Astro Shop will give you excellent service, and he may be the cheapest.
Cheers,
John B