Applications :: IWorks In Comparison With MS Office

I have recently purchased my first Mac a few months ago. While I use a Windows PC at work and had previously used a Windows PC and home, I was frustrated with the home laptop and switched to a Mac. Now my question is, I am looking for a Word Doc and Spreadsheet application for personal use at home and I am not sure which to get, MS Office for Mac or IWorks. I currently use Word and Excel (and am pretty familiar with both) at work and previously at home. I do basic like writing letters, expense spreadsheet calculations, account listing, etc. I would also like to be able to sent Word and Excel docs from my work computer (in MS Office for Windows) to my home computer and be able to work and edit them and send them back. Not sure if IWorks would let me do that, or if MS Office for Mac is the way to go.