We have a special foundness for the Celestron family; if you want to splurge, this one!

Now, Meade is also very good.
I've got the ETX90 which is easiest to carry along with you in trips.
What I'd say is this: you should go to a specialist who knows his instruments (very convenient if a repair needs to be done).
I used to have a Newton telescope that had no motor and a wooden tripod and a viewfinder that could not be changed and forced me to have awkward positions (bad for the back) in order see what I was aiming at and it didn't show more than what you'd see with your naked eyes anyway, so I sold it.
The ETX90 changed the whole thing: everytime there is a clear sky, I just need to take the thing downstairs and outside, set it up and there we go!
If you know your telescope very well, you can have nice use of it.
It all depends on how you'd want to use it. I know a guy who joined our club just because he received a very expensive telescope. We helped him in his first use of the electronic control device and he came twice, after that, to the club and we never saw him again. Many buy a telescope, use it once, are lost and then store it somewhere and it is forgotten. Buy joining a club, we are sometimes incited and encouraged by the other members to find out more, to explore more things, buy new stuff (like the Barlow 2x lens I ,just got).
It's up to us.

Raoul