I switched from PC to Mac about 3 years ago, and am not going back to PCs. I like that it's Unix underneath, and consider the "eye candy" aspects to be nice though not essential. However, you ain't gonna get a Macbook Air for $1200. You also have to buy new copies of software like Microsoft Office etc., and this can add to the cost. At the same time, you can also still run Windows programs using Parallels or VMWare Fusion, which actually works pretty well.

I have both a MacBook Pro which I use for travel and at home, and a Macbook that I use in the office where I have less time to work on the computer. The Macbook is really pretty functional if your eyes are happy with the screen size; in my case I use the Macbook with a big, cheap external screen (plus the Macbook by itself which is easy to drag to meetings). But you should visit a Best Buy or an Apple store and play with the three flavors (Macbook, Macbook Pro, and Macbook Air) before you decide.