I second all the comments on getting a longer bed. I would also add another very important consideration : Don't just look at the lathe - look at the vendor.? If you just buy the cheapest lathe (especially if it a a "no name" brand) you will get support post-purchase support if there are any factory defects. The good vendors will typically make good on any factory defects or omissions (but more importantly, they will also work to make sure there aren't any in the first place).? It's one thing to skimp a bit on tooling, but the lathe itself is the foundation you are building on so you want that to be as solid as possible.
Having said that, if you are the kind of person who likes to take a so-so piece of equipment and improve it, there are plenty of good guides online on how to improve a 7X lathe. So you can either pay in money up front or in labor (and a bit more money) after purchase. I think both approaches are valid; it all depends on how you like to spend your time, and how quickly you want to get started on "making stuff."
I took the latter approach many years ago - mostly because I got a good deal on a used lathe and didn't know any better. It probably took me about a 18 months to get up to speed. Part of that time was work spent tweaking the lathe, part of the time was in acquiring additional tooling, and part of the time was just re-learning very old and rusty lathe skills. I might add that if you have used or trained on a larger lathe you will have to re-learn some things on working with a small lathe.
The main thing is that I enjoyed the whole process of making improvements to my lathe, acquiring new tooling and learning how to use it, and making useful (and just fun) stuff. Whatever lathe you get, no matter what size, is going to have some limits, but there will still be many things you can do within those limits, so I am sure that whatever lathe you end up with you are bound to have fun with it.
