If you're like most people here, you didn't just buy one 35mm or digital camera and just stick with it forever. You should look at large format the same way, the camera you get to learn the basics with doesn't have to be a life-time commitment. You can be promiscuous and try many.
I'm the worst whore, I've owned at least twenty different ones now. And my main advice is not to fall into the trap that most newcomers seem to do, which is to buy a pretty wooden folder right off the bat. I know they are attractive and lightweight -- and laypeople will come up and comment on your "old-fashioned" camera (don't tell them it was made a few months ago in Asia). BUT for a fraction of the price of even a modest Shen-Hao, you can get a very solid, very versatile monorail with unlimited movements and infinite expansion capabilities.
True, they are bulkier and heavier but... you're not going backpacking with the thing until you understand how to use it, right? And the sturdiness is to your advantage, especially starting out. Plus they are a lot simpler to set up and manipulate -- all the controls and positioning is obvious (I struggle remembering how to fold a Tachi, but I am slow...).
You see top-quality Swiss-made Sinar Fs with normal lenses selling in the $3-400 range on eBay. There are thousands of good professional-grade cameras from Toyo, Sinar, Arca-Swiss, Horseman, Cambo, and even Linhof selling for under $500.
I just used a $300 Linhof Kardan Super-Color that is as well-built and designed as their famous Technika folding cameras that cost many times more. True the monorail is larger (but not much heavier) and that accounts for the difference in popularity. In practice, many photos are made within proximity to the car or homebase, especially when you're learning, so what is the big deal?
For that matter, I've used many Graflex Crown and Speed Graphics, which are very solid folding press cameras. Granted, you only have limited movements but they are nearly bulletproof and can be found in excellent condition for only a couple of hundred dollars ($400-$500 if you want a warrantied one from a major dealer). The older Optar, Ektar, and Xenar lenses that are bundled with them are excellent, although just like a fifty-year old Leica, sometimes they need a CLA.
Especially for handheld shooting, a Graflex makes so much more sense than spending $$$ on some exotic kludge like converted Polaroid 110s and the like.... I actually prefer the lighter Crown to the Technika for handheld shooting since the Linhof is a beast.
Certainly you can easily drop more than a M9's price on a wonderful new Linhof Master Technika, which is wonderful if you can afford it (they are fine, like a Leica). Or you can be a pretentious poser and drop just $4000 to $6000 on an wooden Ebony/Chamonix/Shen-Hao and a few new lenses.... OR you could be smart and get yourself a professional Sinar F
and a Crown Graphic (in case you suddenly go backpacking or want to shoot handheld), along with a choice vintage lens or two, a rugged tripod (a Tiltall is a good start), a spot meter, and a load of film and holders... for under a grand.
If you don't have a darkroom, do yourself a favor and get a $180 Harrison Pup Tent to load film in. Also, if you can afford it, get a Fuji Instant film back and a supply of Fuji Instant film (they make two sizes, the smaller, less expensive size works in your 4x5 although it leaves off a small portion of the image).
http://4photolab.com is one of the best mail-order processing labs, run by my friend Edgar Praus, who will help guide you if you need a lab.
