One of my faves for medium format is Fuji Pro 160NS, but apparently they don't make that in 135 anymore. If you don't want to spend too much while you're getting the hang of film, Fuji Superia is nice and cheap ($20 for 5 rolls at many drug stores), waaay cheaper than Portra, and the colours can be pretty ridiculous. Plus, if you're in Canada, there are still a couple places you can get C-41 developed (Superia, Pro160NS, Portra, etc.). Slide films like Velvia, not so much, and you can't even buy colour developer anywhere in Canada anymore to do it yourself.
On the plus side, B/W film is a lot more flexible to develop and you can still find chem for it wherever. I usually stick to t-grain films for the texture (Kodak T-Max, Ilford Delta, Lomo Lady Grey, etc.), but you should be able to find developer for any type of black and white you prefer. I'd recommend picking up "Massive Dev Chart" on the iOS app store if you are going to be developing yourself, it takes a lot of the math out of pushing/pulling an ASA.