On transmission: what's the state of the rest of the car? All in good repair, or are there signs of other things needing work too? I would probably hesitate at a $2k+ repair to our 2k9 fit -- we've got body rust starting around the wheels (salt belt), cracked driver's door armrest, and a semi-persistent leak on the passenger windshield, plus the dings and dents of almost 12 years of life.
Can you charge at home? At work? There should be plenty of electric options in your price range, including bolts, leafs, and maybe a few others. In CA you'll have some of the early compliance cars, so fit-e, focus-e, etc. I'm not sure if those were lease-only though, so they may have EV1'd them.
If you don't have convenient charging then the usual recommendations apply. Civic, Fit, Camry, etc.