I would go higher and get a McPherson carbon fiber instrument, either a Sable or Touring. Then, my focus would be solely on playing with the occasional change of strings, but no concerns about guitar care otherwise such as humidity concerns in winter, etc. That would really be a lifetime instrument.
Such guitars were not available when I started playing, so the fact that the OP said "If you were buying your first guitar today...", makes the McPherson a valid choice even if it is at a higher cost than the parameters he provided.
I have a friend who decided to learn to play piano. He went all out and for his first (and still only) piano, purchased a Yamaha 6' grand. He skipped all the buying/selling GASsing and trading up and just focused on playing once the purchase was done. He still plays that same piano today.
That is the mindset of my response regarding getting the McPherson right at the beginning.
Tony
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