That's a difficult question to answer. Do you plan to carry it daily? OC? CC? Do you plan on keeping it by the bedside. Taking it to the range and putting hundreds of rounds through it. My first handgun was 26 years ago. It was a Super Blackhawk 44mag with 7.5 inch barrel. But I was thinking about shooting deer. The last gun I bought was a TCP .380. You have hundreds of choices. I've been looking at some 9mm pistols that might work for you. Sig 2022, Sig 938, Kahr CM9. Some friends bought XDs in 45. The compact ones. You might want to find the ammo first, then buy the gun. Ammo is hard to find, and without it, whatever you buy is going to be an expensive poorly designed club.