Welcome to MacGregorSailors, StUrrock - we are really fond of our MacGregors, and you've seen that we love to share our experiences. I hope you will enjoy yourself browsing this site, and that you'll find the boat the suits you.
Having owned a Mac 19, I'll say that it's a pretty good boat for its size. I was attracted to buying a MacGregor 26 at first, but when I saw one face-to-fiberglass I realized it was far more boat than I could handle as a brand-new sailor - however, there was a West Wight Potter 19 sitting on its trailer next to the big Mac, and it looked "just right." While I was looking for a Potter I could get to and afford, though, I found a Mac 19 listed on the web-site of a broker close to my home - and on visiting, I decided that it would do just fine. I christened her "Beija-Flor," and had two good sailing seasons with her before I decided I'd "outgrown" her.
The "major flaw" of Beija-Flor was that she was well-sized for day sailing -- but I felt cramped with the lack of headroom in the cabin. I used to sleep aboard from time to time, as she was docked in a marina five minutes from my office (and an hour from home). It wasn't bad when I was able to walk down the dock to the marina office and its loo, but I didn't feel comfortable at all about setting up a camp-stove belowdecks - and the one time I used the porta-potty, I had to sit with my knees out the door of the head. So after I got the experience to handle a larger boat, I bought my present Mac 26X (Bossa Nova) and I find she's much more comfortable to me - stand-up headroom, a proper little galley with room for a decent stove, a decent table and bench seats, and room to pull up my shorts without opening the door of the head.
You mention "finances (and space on our drive!!)" as limiting factors ... the 26X is a big boat and requires a big tow vehicle, which could be a further limiting factor unless you're going to keep your boat in the water. I had a 1999 Subaru Outback when I bought Beija-Flor, and it strained to haul Beija-Flor at highway speeds; I knew it wouldn't handle the 26X. (The winter before I bought the X, I'd had to replace the Subaru and I chose a 2004 Toyota 4Runner. Plenty of power, but a thirsty land-yacht indeed!)
Have you considered a West Wight Potter? It's quite similar in size to the Mac 19, except that it has a heavy steel daggerboard instead of the 19's light swing keel and water ballast. Like the Mac 19 and the old "classic" Mac 26C/26D/26S, it's limited to "sit-down" headroom belowdecks - but you might find you're OK with that. (And, even though this smacks of blasphemy on MacGregorSailors, I think it's much more attractive than the Mac 19 - it looks like a proper "pocket yacht" sailboat, rather than looking like a powerboat with a mast stuck on it.) They're built in the UK as well as in the USA, so it should be very available to you there. They are quite rugged and sea-kindly for such a small boat - the Potter Yachters web-site includes the "logbook" of a man who sailed his Potter 19 from San Francisco to Hawaii, and they were after all designed and built for UK waters. I still admire the look of the Potters, and often I wish I'd been able to buy one of those instead of my Mac 19....
Just a thought.
Enjoy! And the best of luck to you.
- Rick
in the next few years, although I think it will be a tough task as very few of them made it to these shores!
or 
!!!!!!!!
Rob
What other vessel could provide theese options?