It's been at least 3 minutes since someone I posted a ship thread. So here we go.
If you were to start 3.0 with a single ship, 150 or under, what would it be? And why. I'm thinking a la Privateer or Freelancer. You get one ship, and you just start empire building from that single platform.
I'm personally leaning heavily towards the Cutty Black. It can haul, shoot, and still crash into a mighty fireball.
Blind Owl - I saw your other post, so I figure this is a fairly serious question for you. I am very sorry to hear about your foundation troubles.
Personally, I would go with either the Taurus, the Freelancer series, or the Cutlass Series. Which one you pick will depend on your (primary) playstyle.
Hauler/trader - Freelancer Max or Taurus. Freelancer has better maneuverability, plus (currently) 4 engines the size of the Connie, but with less mass. Downside is, you may not be as maneuverable as the normal Freelancer.
Pirate - Cutlass Black - no questions unless you plan on running with 2 friends a significant portion of the time. If that is the case, go with the Freelancer or the Freelancer MIS.
Exploration: Freelancer DUR - exploration is it's forte.
Combat: This I can't help with as I've never flown the cutlass in combat. That said, I love flying my Freelancer loaner in combat. I use a throttle and mouse combination for my controls and with the gimbals, it makes for a really nice combat ship. Also, the freelancer can take 2 cutlasses in a fight...the video showed that :astonished:.
Medical/bounty hunting...the appropriate cutlass variant.
My game package was the Taurus, but honestly, I like flying my freelancer a lot more than I do my Andromeda loaner for 2.6. I don't know what 3.0 will bring though.
Best of luck to you. Oh, and check on your homeowners insurance policy. Not sure about Canada, but I think something like that would be covered under my policy. Just so long as it wasn't a maintenance item you didn't ignore.