My only addition is YES BUY YOUR OWN GEAR. Especially if you’re going to be doing a lot of "out of country" diving. As fun as it is, your life, literally, depends on your equipment, and there is a lot to be said for the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’re using quality gear that has been well maintained instead of trusting your health to rental gear. I can tell you from experience, it’s no fun traveling 4 hours, dressing out and jumping in the water only to find your BC bubbling out because they forgot to put in a gasket at the inflator attachment.
With that said, everyone else’s advice then comes into play, take your time, research, soul search, budget etc. Your gear for cave diving or diving on Great Lakes shipwrecks at 150’ is going to be different than Carribian reef diving at 40’