Before buying a “milkstool,” I’d look into homebuilding.
We belonged to an ultralight club, that evolved into an experimental club, which evolved into a vintage aircraft club. If you want to spend years building a plane and dreaming about flying... it might be a good way for a person to go. If you just want to fly for cheap typically a vintage plane is the better way to go. Most vintage aircraft have better and more proven safety records than homebuilts or kits.
We live on a small airport and own both a homebuilt aircraft and a factory built aircraft. We love them both. Our neighbors have a wide variety of aircraft. I personally have always had a soft spot for tripacers. They are amazing performers for their price and are super easy to fly.