Well relatively helpful responses so far, thanks everyone for their input.

With all this being said, is there a brand of bike brand that would be recommended in my situation? Those citybikes are an interesting concept, however are there companies out here that sell them?

Like I would think an entry level giant bike at 500 that has no suspension and good quality gears/breaks/chain would be a relatively cost effective option. Would there be something better? An how hard is it to swap out different tires as the seasons change for someone that is totally new to doing such work?