We had a parakeet when I was a teen (he was my brother's pet) that lived for quite awhile and was almost never in the cage, til we got a cat. Kiwi would sit on the piano while we practiced, sit on the end of a pencil if I was doing homework (he was much heavier than you'd expect!) and sit in my mom's hair and pull out her bobby pins.

Mom has a cockatoo now that is much more obnoxious than I think you'd want (it's like having the loudest "terrible twos" toddler you can imagine) but you may want to consider a cockatiel. Much cheaper than the larger parrot class of birds, won't live to be 50, but a little more interactive than a budgie.