I'm going to chime in with, don't go brand new. Find a 10yo Trek or Specialized or Cannondale or Giant, or one of the cool MTB brands like Santa Cruz, on Craigslist, where your $ will go a long way. The sort of bike I'm thinking of costs about $1000 new today but depreciation brings it into your target zone. Nicer bikes often have more mileage because they're bought by people who intend to use them, but they can also tolerate it better and they get maintained. Don't get too hung up on specific brands or features, there are a couple of brands of forks and a couple of brands of drivetrains and they each have many levels, but as long as you have real damping and good shifting you'll be fine. Hydraulic disk brakes may be nicer but cable V-brakes work great and are pretty hard to screw up. If you post your location we forum rats will help you look, we enjoy that sort of thing.