Help me choose what snake to get

[J9161T]

I had 2 corn snakes when I was a teenager/in my 20s. Now I'm a little older and would like to get a slightly bigger snake, the immediate obvious was a ball python but I don't know... I don't like how short and girthy they are haha. I don't want to get a pet that I'm not totally enamoured with from the start you know.

I LOVE BCIs, they'd be perfect for me... But they're illegal in my country for some reason :(

So then I started looking at jungle carpet pythons and fell in love with them too, and they're legal in my country but I can't find them anywhere! None at stores, no breeders, nothing. I'm not sure of the legality/logistics of shipping one from another country in Europe to here. If it's even possible that is?

The only snakes I can find being sold here are corn snakes, rat snakes, balls, and strangely enough, Brazilian Rainbow Boas. So now I'm thinking of getting a BRB. Are they generally handleable and active? I know they can be nippy when young, etc. need high humidity, I've read plenty already. But I'm just not sure what's best for me. What I liked about carpet pythons is that they're so active and curious. I like a snake I can handle and take out of the enclosure.

[toddnbecka]

What species of rat snakes are available for you? My Russian and Japanese rat snakes are really great for handling, never flighty or defensive. My prasina, aka green bush rat snakes, are not at all willing to be handled. My normal black rat is fine, while his leucistic sister is a bit moody, and has tagged me a couple of times just to let me know she didn't appreciate being picked up. My speckled king snakes are very docile, while the Sinoloan milk snake was very flighty as a hatchling. Grown out a bit, but still quite young, now she comes right to my hand to take her fuzzy mouse rather than ducking for cover when I open the lid of her tub.
Some years ago when I was researching various species before switching from aquarium fish to snakes I passed over BRB's because of their relatively strict housing requirements. That's when I ran across the Dominican red mountain boas, and they became my first choice. Not easy to find, only a couple people were breeding them, but now they are a bit more available. Not sure how likely you'll be to find them, but certainly worth looking into.
Have you looked into finding an importer to see what other less commonly available species are legal?