You might get lucky and find some vintage old iron.....South Bend, Leblond, Monarch, etc. near you or within traveling distance. Even shipping can sometimes be reasonable for the right machine!
I went through a similar situation. I had access to an oasis of machinist, toolmaker, maintenance and QA equipment that we were (more or less) allowed to use on nightshift and then found a new job in an office full of geeks and computers.
I ended up with a made-in-Taiwan 14x40 lathe that I use from time to time. I have no regrets on size or quality but I can't imagine having anything much smaller. A DRO would be nice but not necessary.
I would suggest having a budget keeping an open mind. I was fixated on finding a USA made lathe for a while and only found 'vintage' equipment in my price range. The gear swapping, bearing tech, and toolpost on a southbend seemed too unfamiliar from what I used in school and while pretending to be a machinist.
sounds odd and maybe even insulting or rude to some, but make sure you have some spending money during the next recession. Best time to build a home workshop.
this is the exact make model I have. There's a few different clones and varients out there.
