I will also throw my vote in for the Sony a6000 line. I purchased a Sony a6300 after several years with a Nikon D3000, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in getting into photography, but not ready to spend several grand on equipment.
DSLR vs Mirrorless
When thinking about moving away from Nikon, I was hesitant about mirrorless cameras. Mostly because I had heard how fast the batteries drain and was unsure about the electronic viewfinders. Both of those fears turned out to be wrong. Sony’s mirrorless line’s battery was every bit as good as my previous Nikon—if not better. The EVF is incredibly easy to work with and gives incredible detail about what you’re shooting.
Sony a6500 v a 6300
I would recommend the a6300 over the a6500, which is the newest model. The two advantages the a6500 has is a touchscreen and it can film 4k video for about an hour continuously without overheating. The a6300 does not have a touch screen and it can film 4k video for about 15 minutes. Given that the a6300 is several hundred bucks cheaper, I’d say that is absolutely the route to take.
Kit Lens
Another thing—people will tell you to avoid kit lenses. Kit lenses are the ones that ship packaged with a respective camera body. Usually kit lenses are garbage, but Sony’s 16-50 mm Power Zoom Lens that ships with the a6000 series is fantastic and worth getting.
Software
Final thing. I don’t know if you have Adobe Creative Cloud or not. If you dislike paying monthly for CC or are looking for a Lightroom alternative, Sony cameras owner get a huge discount for Capture One Pro. A full license is a $50 one time purchase—which is several hundred in savings. Personally, I don’t miss Lightroom and actually prefer Capture One. Then again, I’ve been trying to leave the Adobe ecosystem.
Hope that helps!