OK, there are too many people posting stuff here (incl. myself) which varies hugely according to their own perspective, and the perspective isn't always obvious.
If you are learning to fly to go places then the choice of aircraft is quite narrow. It's going to be a good IFR-capable 4-seater, and you need the budget for playing the game at that level. BTW Skyhawk I know quite a lot about N-reg myself
and it makes very little difference to costs - unless you like to pretend that your handheld GPS substitutes for ADF and DME
There is a number of different types any of which would do the job well enough and if you buy one of them you won't go far wrong, and it comes down to personal preference. I don't like 1-door planes (e.g. PA28) and don't like high-wing.
You can "go places" in something a lot less capable but then you are looking at VFR and yes it can be done, I've done it and I know a few of the tricks you use to fly VFR "imaginatively". But you need a lot more time, to get stuck in places. If you have plenty of time, you can do it quite cheaply in any of the very capable modern Permit types.
If you are learning to fly to just bimble around, or do aerobatics, or you haven't got any money, then it's a whole different argument and I would wholly agree with those who advise to get the PPL and try different things and see what you like best.