Ultralights are fun to fly, and they'll take off and land using a minimal amount of runway (or grass field or dry lakebed).
If you consider buying an ultralight, be sure and get a BRS (Ballistic Recovery System - website:
http://brsparachutes.com/) emergency parachute. It has saved many a ultralight pilot's life. I used to work for the company that made the rocket motors that are used in the deployment of BRS chutes.