Re: Make at least sure you have your own domain
> Whatever you do, you start with using your OWN domain name, because then you can move it anywhere you want to
+1
It's also possible to have your own domain and point it (OK in a roundabout fashion) at Gmail so you can post and receive your domain email using Gmail services whether web or via a client such as thunderbird.
I may however bump the frequency I dump Google data down to local storage (which for Gmail it dumps in a handy mbox format) :)