With your size, you're a good candiate for a custom bike. They can be price competitive, depending on how much you want to spend. I've done 4, and given the quality, the tailoring and componentry, they actually ended up much less expensive than an equivalent rack bike. Like everything else, it depends on what you want.

The custom process is a blast, you get to be part of the whole process from tubes to road and you end up with something that is only yours.

Give a call to Carl Strong, he built my first and he is a very helpful guy when it comes to talking about doing your first bike. http://www.strongframes.com