I'll always have a place for a typewriter on my desk, these machines are daily drivers for me. I think of them less as a hobby, and more as creative tools as they're a part of my workflow. Though I do have some that I just thought were neat, or attracted me for some other reason. I'll never be one of those guys that has a room full of typewriters though.
On that note, how much room it takes or how much mechanical inclination you need is entirely dependant on what you want to do. If you just like the idea of having one to type on now and again, getting one that's in good shape requires very little space and no mechanical knowledge at all other than how to use it. Which is pretty easy to learn for most machines. If you ever do find yourself more than academically interested, see if there's a "Type In" anywhere near you and go tap away on some of the machines. If nothing else most typewriter folks are happy to chat about their stuff and let people try them out.
On a side note, it's been really interesting lately to see typewriters have a bit of a resurgence. I don't think they'll ever be a big deal again like they were prior to the 90's, but a growing number of people are seeking them out to use as writing tools again. It's especially cool seeing younger folks that didn't grow up with them doing this, and wanting to keep these machines going. The demand will probably never be enough to "bring typewriters back", but it's enough to keep repair shops busy and encourage more people to learn to work on them. They have more of a future today than they have in some time.