Size costs money. Some multifunction printers and the least expensive photo printers are typically 13 inches wide, and if they don't take rolls, they are limited to 13 x 19. An example is the Canon Pixma Pro 200, which is about $550. The next step up is 17" wide, limited to 22" if it won't take rolls. An example is the Canon Prograf 1000, which will set you back about $1900. The next step up is 24" or thereabouts, like the Canon Prograf Pro 2100, which will set you back about $3000. And large printers typically take a lot of expensive pigment ink. I use a prograf Pro 1000, and a full set of 12 ink cartridges runs about $700.
So the bottom line IMHO is that for someone who is inexperienced, the best is to start small.
Printing is complex until you get the hang of it. You will need to learn about papers, softproofing, using ICC profiles, output sharpening, yada yada. Once you master all this stuff, it's not hard, but mastering it takes a good bit of work. It's not for everyone, as other posts here suggest. So I wouldn't invest much until you know your way around printing and are certain you want to do it.
Re papers: that's complicated because what's at issue is both appearance and durability. If you don't need archival quality, a logical place to start given your stated preference would be with a good satin or luster paper. However, better yet would be to get a sample pack from the companies that offer them and try the same print on a bunch of different papers to see what you like.
Finally, a big choice starting out is pigment vs. dye inks. If you want archival quality, there's no choice: you need to go with pigment, which is what I now use. However, if you don't care whether some prints may fade in a dozen years (or whatever), dye inks may be a good option. They are much less prone to clogging, and in my experience, you waste less of the expensive ink in self-cleaning. Of the printers above, only the smallest, the Pixma pro 200, uses dye inks.
