They are indeed...Thinking of getting a pet snake sometime in the future, probably when I go to Uni...
Since you dont have really any experience with snakes my recommendation is to start off with something small and easy to keep such as a Corn Snake. They are very friendly, easy to handle, love to be handled and eat without problems in captivity.
If you absolutely want to go with a Python or Boa then I recommend getting a Ball Python (the kind of snake that I have now) or a Red Tailed Columbian Boa. Both have there advantages and disadvantages though.
The Ball Python is nice because they dont get to big (normally not bigger than 5 and half feet but in some rare cases 6 ft). They are quite docile and rather than bite they curl up into a tight ball (hense the name). They are farely easy to keep but you they a very sensitive to the humidity of the terrarium (if you dont keep the humidity at 70 to 80 percent they can get lung problems and die).
They are fairly easy to work with so as to "tame" them (even though you can not tame a snake) and as I said above they do not bite)
However they are very sensitive and get stressed out easily. They also can be difficult at first to get them to eat but once they start to eat and trust you they are no longer a problem. They do however every year go into a period where they may not eat from 2 to 4 months. Mine just got off of this and ate for the first time since late December.
The Red Tail Columbian Boas get quite bigger than the Ball. They are easy to keep in a terrarium and usually are quite friendly and docile but young Red Tails can have a temperament and bite pretty easily.
I used to have a Ball Python, Burmese Python (she was a bitch!), and a Red Tail Columbian Boa all at the same time. At the moment I only have a Ball Python. As soon as I build my house in Alaska though I plan to have about 20 different snakes in my house.
Like I said I recommend starting off with a small easy snake such as the Corn Snake until you learn how to go about handling and caring for these beautiful creatures.