Good suggestions so far, which I will encourage. A Glock 44 seems smart to me but I have never shot one.
I have a Browning Buckmark and a Zamak PPK in .22LR. Neither of those are guns I would recommend for starting out.

I am a huge airsoft for training fan. If you spend enough, you are getting a reliable facsimile of a real firearm - same manual of arms, some recoil, some report and accuracy enough for basement/backyard skills development. On top of that, airsoft guns have enough danger to reinforce the risk, on par with BB guns. They are similar to firearms but are just less negatives relative to starting out - less risk, less noise, less blast.

Please bear in mind that a decent Japanese or Taiwanese green gas pistol is $150-200. I started with some cheap ones but eventually discovered Tokyo Marui and KSC for force on force. Like most things in life, quality costs.