Hey OP, you have got a ton of good suggestions, so I won't be suggesting too much on what device to get but on something different. I am in a similar situation as far as vaping goes, but for different reasons.
I too am a non-smoker and getting into vaping (For the sweet flavors, because I am diabetic), I would suggest if you do not smoke, go for 0 nic, yes, nicotine might not be too harmful (arguable), but it is harmful non-the-less. If you are looking to get into it for the social aspect and fun of blowing clouds, I would also suggest to get a high-VG-low-PG based juice, this will allow you to blow bigger clouds and be less irritating to your throat. For someone like me, who has never smoke, I wasn't lookign for the throat-hit at all, so I went with as little PG as possible, and thus decided on mixing my own juices using flavorings from MBV, some stevia (Natural sugar-free sweetener), and only VG. This allows me to use a higher concentration of flavorings since VG doesn't carry the flavor as strong as PG.
Further, since you do have technical knowledge, I would also suggest a mech mod with a dripping atomiser, this will allow you to have a smaller device, which produces more vapor, it may not hold as much juice but as you don't seem to be looking to vape through the hole day, it shouldn't be a problem. This is exactly what happened with me, I bought a Vamo V5, but quickly realised (Before the Vamo even got to me) I can handle a mech mod and that it would be a better device for me (And now selling my Vamo on the classifieds
).
Since you are looking to keep it under $100, you should be able to pickup a clone tube mod and a clone RDA, along with battery/chargers and a fair amount of juice and consumable to start off.