Kinda reviving a dead thread here... but as someone who's been in your shoes, I'll pitch in.
I would say buy a CZ-82. 9x18 Makarov is cheap and plentiful and you can find CZs for $250 (or you used to be able to). Best gun for that kind of money in my opinion. They're reliable and accurate. Aftermarket is lacking. But the best thing about buying a used gun is you can usually sell it for about what you paid for it, in case you want to upgrade to a pricier gun down the road.
My first and only current handgun is a Beretta 96D (.40 police issue) that I paid a whole $300 for. Manufactured in '95 in the USA, holstered a lot, shot a little. Almost bought a CZ, but bought the Beretta because the price was right and I knew there was good aftermarket for them.
Point is, there are more options out there than having to save up for a $500+ gun. Hell, Palmetto State Armory was having a Black Friday sale on brand new Kahr CM40s (subcompact) for $330. Keep an eye out for deals and check backpage and armslist often to gauge prices. See something that catches your eye for sale, then research the hell out of it. And again, if you buy it for a good price and a month later see something you like more, just sell the first gun. You probably won't lose any money, and you might even make a couple of bucks