Nikon fan here as well. The D3000 is a good looking camera, but you might could find a D40 for cheaper and its going to do basically the same in every aspect, but is a tad lower in resolution if I remember off hte top of my head.
Theres alot of great info about nikons, canons, and everything else on
www.kenrockwell.com he does reviews on the stuff and as far as i know doesnt get paid from either source or anything.
edit: for a general purpose do everything lens, spend hte money and get a Nikon 18-200 VR lens. Its fabulous. i've not taken it off my camera since i bought it.