Here's how I got started kegging:
All you need is a refrigerator that will accommodate the height of the keg, a keg, a cylinder of CO2 , a regulator, tubing from the regulator to a quick-disconnect (QD) that feeds gas to the keg, and a picnic tap starting with a QD and ending with the little black faucet which in the pic you can see peeking out from behind the right side of the cylinder.
The cost of such a basic system can be fairly cheap if you're patient in collecting the parts. Used ball-lock kegs cost about $50. (
Here's an example from Craigslist). A new 2-gauge regulator costs $50, but you can if you're patient find them for less. A new 5# CO2 tank costs about $65, but you can sometimes find 10 and 20 pounders for less than that. CO2 tanks need to be recertified every 5 years so if you find a screaming deal on a tank, probably it needs recertification. I had a "free" 10-pounder recertified and filled for under $40 where i live, but YMMV. The picnic tap with QD will cost $7-10; the tubing plus QD for the gas side, maybe $6 or so.
A fill of CO2 will vary. I pay under $18 to refill at 5# cylinder. Larger cylinders (10#, 20#) cost proportionally less by buying the CO2 in greater bulk.
So--Used corny keg, $50. New regulator, $50. New CO2 cylinder $65+ fill $20. Parts, $15. that adds up to $198, but you can do better if you're patient. You said you have buds nearby who can help you, there must be someone local who could help with this or, better yet, sell you some stuff used.
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I think there's value in starting kegging this way, because you learn about the keg and gas system without the further complication of a kegerator or a keezer. BUT, if you found a screaming deal on a kegerator or keezer, well, you'd buy it.
Once you have this basic setup, all of it could be repurposed in a permanent setup. And from there, the sky is the limit. You can control the number of taps, spacing, how it looks, how you label the taps, virtually everything.
So, you've seen how I started. Here's the intermediate version, a used freezer I painted with blue chalkboard paint and wrote on to provide the menu. With that keezer I started with 3 taps, eventually expanded it to 5 later when I had the need and the money.
When that keezer died I bought a new freezer and rethought and redid a lot of the concept. Now I have this, which includes a screen menu and a glass rinser on the left:
So--if I were you, I'd embrace the bottling thing for a time or two, just to get your feet wet.
@kh54s10 's advice about on how to do it is excellent. In the meantime, you can continue educating yourself on kegging, browse for-sale sites like Craigslist, FB, and so on so you become informed on prices, and look to move ahead.
FWIW: One thing I didn't like about bottle conditioning is there always is a skim of yeast on the bottom of the bottle. Yes, you can decant the beer off by pouring slowly, but it's a pain (IMO) and if you give your beer away to friends, they may not do that, mixing up yeast into the beer and then...well, yuk. That's why I moved to kegging and forced carbonation, but I still can bottle off the faucets when I want. So it's not an either-or proposition. With bottling only, you can't keg, but with kegging, you can bottle, too.
Anyway, good luck and enjoy the journey!
