Hi everyone,
My young family (2 adults, a 2 yo child & another on the way!) wants to buy our first yacht to gain more sailing experience/boat handling.

Our dream one day is to purchase a blue water cruiser in Europe and sail back to Aus but our first boat will not need to be blue water capable.

I'd love some help and advice please in narrowing down a practical sized yacht & makes & models.

We have limited sailing experience but I'm comfortable on boats/boat handling.
My wife and I have RYA day skipper quals and I've done a bare boat charter in Thailand, worked on fishing boats, had tinnie as a kid & sail training on Young Endeavour years ago.

We live in Canberra and plan to moor the yacht around Batemans Bay NSW (open to suggestions) which is a 2hr drive each way & use boat for weekends.

Use:
-coastal sailing (up to a few days away)
-2 adults, 2 small children (sufficient space for us all)
-sailing experience & fun

Budget: $50k approx

Must haves:
-easy to handle
-safe & seaworthy
-sails well, fun, with good feedback
-All lines to cockpit for short handed
-sloop rigged (possibly cutter also)
-26 foot & above
-fibreglass
-fin keel
-good reliable engine
-good cond standing rigging
-good sails
-good resale
-fully enclosed head with toilet
-none or limited osmosis
-elec windlass
-not a project boat (I'm time poor. Young family, work & distance from boat means I want to sail & not refit). Some upgrades & tidy up (new cushions, revarnish, small repairs) are ok.

Prefer/nice to have:
-less than 30 years old (give or take)
-for sale NSW, south QLD, Vic
-at least 1 double birth but prefer 2 closed off from saloon
-gas cooker
-pressure water (preferably hot)
-fridge
-dingy
-solar/wind
-inverter
-davits
-autopilot/self steering

I've been reading a lot on this forum & researching vessels between 30-35 foot.

I've considered & researched: Mottle 33, Jarkan 10.5, Beneteau First 27.7 & 30, Moody 346, Moody 35, Sadler 34, Hallberg Rassy 29, Compass 38,
Van de Stadt 34,Sparkman and Stephens 30 (or similar),Arends 33, Northshore 33, Catalina 27, 28, 30. I realise some are outside my current price range of 50k.

Should I go smaller for first boat? Research suggests a boat 22-27 foot may be better to learn on due to ease of handling and sailing feedback/feel, berthing etc. The trade off is interior space if we go too small as I don't want this to turn the family off sailing if we are too cramped, uncomfortable and ready to kill each other!

I have a soft spot for centre cockpits (around 33-35 foot) for the safe cockpit location, interior space & seperate sizeable aft cabin (despite their poor use as births while sailing (leecloths aside))

I'd love some help & advice from you all to weigh up pros and cons. Thanks for the historical posts from which I've learnt a great deal so far.