most of my friends bought their first coins and it is still on the exchange where they originally bought it.
Though I know that's an extremely risky thing to do, it's understandable. When people buy stocks, they usually keep them with the brokerage from which they bought them--they don't ask for a stock certificate to be printed out in order to keep the stock at home. People generally feel safe having someone else watch over their investments, but that's the exact opposite of what a bitcoin investor should do. I also think it's smart OP is using a hardware wallet and hopefully any other newbies reading this thread will consider doing likewise and NOT keep their bitcoin (or any other crypto) on an exchange.
As everyone has said, the choice of an exchange depends on what country OP is in. I've never used LBC, so I can't comment on them. I have found that Coinbase is a reliable exchange for fiat purchases. Poloniex now accepts bank wire transfers, and I'd probably trust them as well though I've never bought bitcoin from them using cash.
There's also the currency exchange section here. I've been able to buy bitcoin using PayPal, but that's probably not an option for a newbie. However, there are other methods of payment some sellers might accept. As long as the payment method isn't reversible and an escrow is used, there shouldn't be any problems.
