[Porsche-O-Phile]

Tricycle gear is a lot easier to taxi and control on the ground (many inexperienced pilots have "ground looped" a taildragger which is sorta like driving a 911 - once the center of mass trailing behind the front wheels gets outside of them... Well...)

C152 / C172 are very simple and forgiving - personally I like the PA28s because that's what I learned in and I just personally think low-wings look cooler but they're both good airplanes to learn on and capable enough to actually go places / do things in. Both are pretty inexpensive to operate relatively speaking.

Personally I'd say go with the venerable C172 if you're looking to learn and eventually take kids / family places. Very forgiving, good visibility, simple, etc. it's pretty hard to screw it up in a Skyhawk (although I've had a few students who managed!)

Get a good CFI and go learn. Soloing is a good goal but if you're going to do that then why not get your PP cert?