I had a HF Mill/Drill that I replaced with a Bridgeport. Over a few years, I looked at some BP's, and the clones thereof. The Round Ram type has, most often, a "M" head, which has a shorter quill stroke, of about 3", I think. Also there are about 3 collet types 2 of which are hard to find, and all of which have a max capacity of about 1/2"
The more modern ones have a dovetail ram, and a J head, or a 2J head, which has a variable speed pulley setup The J head is a belt shift speed change, which is nowadays no big problem, since all that I've seen are 3 phase. Since you'll most likely need a converter, you can have your vari-speed with that.
Here in western Oregon A genuine BP is almost impossible to find in decent shape. So the condition is the first priority, rather than the model. I saw way too many that were used up. (Huge backlash in the feedscrews, table like a plowed field, head sounding like it full of rocks)
I'd suggest that you avoid rare and obsolete mills. As long as you stick with the BP or one of it's many clones, you'll find parts are easily available from the usual online sources, and there's lots of advice on how to fix any problem that you may have. A case on point is when I broke my quill return spring last year, I got one from an ebay seller in less than a week, and it cheap. Many clones are direct BP ripoffs, and the parts are interchangeable
I wound up with A 2j Bridgeport, with a 48" table, power table feed, and a Mitutoyo DRO. It's a late model from the early 90's. There's a tag on the head that says made in Singapore. So I guess in it's own way, it's an import too.
Good luck in your search, TC
