[FrankPetrilli]

$200 is enough to get you a pair of Keen boots, which will last a year or two. Truly "good" in the boot world is hand welted hand made leather boots, which are a rarity these days. There are functionally only a few bootmakers that still manufacture this way these days, and about half of them are all in the same Washington State region :)

Expect ~$400, and it's easy to spend $600 without much effort.

That said, look at my comment above in this thread; they do really last 10 years or more, so the investment is well worth it.

[Der_Einzige]

You can get goodyear welted boots which are decent and will likely last on the order of 10 years for 200$ if you're willing to let the person hand stitching it for you be brown and overseas (i.e. buy from Thursday who will make them in Mexico or Portugal)

Hell, Schott will sell you a pair of made in the USA goodyear welted boots for 300$.

[huehehue]

Yes, I have an 8 year old pair of boots that have been through all sorts of conditions, all over the world. And I don't even do anything to maintain them. You can get very good boots for $200.