Welcome aboard and welcome back to the skies!
As JJ pointed out, an aircraft that’s been sitting for awhile will likely require some expenditure in the first few years of ownership. Be prepared for that first and foremost.
My personal opinion on your avionics situation – spend your money on a few quality components rather than a panel full of aging stuff which you’ll have to replace in five or ten years. If you can do the full panel at once, great, as that will save you a bit of money on the install.
If your budget is restrictive, that may mean just a single quality nav/com or even just com for the time being (e.g. Garmin GNC 255 / GTR 200). Later, you can install a fancy GPS and use this radioas a backup.
If you’re planning on getting an instrument rating in the near future, a current-version nav/com/gps is the way to go (e.g. Garmin GTN-650). Don’t try to save a thousand bucks by installing 20-year-old GNS-430W type equipment near the end of its lifecycle.
In the area you plan to fly, you’ll want ADS-B In and Out. There’s too much Class B and C airspace which you will want to be around/through/over. Since you’re starting from scratch, I’d get a transponder like the Garmin GTX-345; it has both In and Out, as well as a WAAS position source. You can display the ADS-B In traffic and weather on a tablet.
I believe that ADS-B devices are not going to get appreciably cheaper as the 2020 deadline approaches, and you may find it more challenging to get the work done as that date gets closer.
Check out Steve Ells’ article in the March 2018 issue of Piper Flyer. It answers a lot of common ADS-B questions and provides a list of the vendors who offer ADS-B solutions.
