Hi Ash,
I'm sure others will swing by with some more direct advice but I'll throw my 2c in here, as I just recently went through a similar decision making process myself.
I looked long and hard at the 130EQ at one of this site's sponsors as it seemed like a lot of scope and mount for not much money. I read a
few reviews on it and decided that the mount may be too much of a buzzkill for me.
I then had the opportunity to play with an 8" Dobsonian and was instantly sold on having one of those instead, and that is what I purchased. And it's fantastic, the best toy I've bought in years and years. Easy to move in and out of the house, a finder scope that uncovers a stack of detail in the sky just on its own, a focuser that I don't fight with (I wear glasses) and a mount that doesn't budge if your dog runs into it!