I totally agree, riding a bike that doesn't fit you is not very fun at all

I agree, it's pretty hard to find a really great bike for under $1000 so find a used bike that's in good shape to save money. The bikes that I see people ride for decades typically have the fewest amount of moving parts, so they tend to be fully rigid frames. That being said, of you wanted things like suspension, as long as the frame is good you can swap out parts as they wear down and keep a bike running for many years. I recently did a full overhaul on a used mountain bike where I swapped out most of the drivetrain, got new suspension forks, and had all the bearings serviced and I was able to do it for under $1000, and should keep that bike on the trails for many more years to come. As long as you avoid buying high performance parts you should be able to do everything on a budget.