I would highly recommend not getting an F1, ever, as a pet. You'll have a lot more fun with the later generations, trust me. I love all the part wild cats, the Ocicat, the Bengal, the Savannah, Pixiebob, all of them. However, the only reason I'd ever have an F1 is if I were breeding, and even then it wouldn't be a pet, it would be a breeding animal.
The thing is that wild animals just don't look to humans in the same way a domestic animal does. There was a great Nat Geo or Nova special about the differences between wolves and dogs, chimps and humans, etc. (I think it was called The Human Spark) The primary one being the wild animal doesn't look to humans. They could care less what you do and don't bond the way domestics do. That's why we domesticated some species and breeds of animal and not others. See horses and zebras. They look a lot alike, but there's no way to domesticate a zebra. It's been tried, repeatedly. Often with disastrous results.
I'm betting other breeders with established catteries don't pay anything like that much. The price is just to discourage people who want pets from getting the early generations.

So be reassured, the farther away from wild you get, the better. And if the breeder is any good, they've managed to keep the stuff that's really cool, like the size, personality and 'dog like' characteristics. If they're great, they've actually improved on the temperament in that direction.