I was like you at one time...and still am as far as the club thing goes.  I dont like to be involved in clubs as their is usually just a bunch of extra crap to have to put up with to be a part of it.  However, my mind changed when it came to learning to fly.  Plus, once I actually joined the club Im in now its nothing like what I expected and actually like it more than doing it alone.

That aside...you at the very least should join one for the first year just so you can learn from someone.  Not really the flying part...I mean the flying part is the easy part...you will find this out once you get your SIM.  What I am talking about is learning the actual theory of flight and the setup of an airplane.  You can fly great and if you dont understand that you simply dont put a bunch of stuff together, hook servos, engine, batteries to it and fly it...then you will crash and fail.

All the planes on the SIM are trimmed and fly perfectly for the most part.  You dont have to understand control throws...CG (center of gravity)...control surface trimming, among other things that makes flying actually enjoyable rather that a huge money pit.

Perhaps if you still feel the way you do about clubs after reading this...you could possibly seek one or two out and see if any veteran flyers would be interested in training you 1 on 1, or even "for hire".  Even if you had to pay 20 to 50 bucks per lesson it would be money well spent.  Because without learning the technical side of setting up your airplanes...you will definitely spend a lot in crash costs.

Also...dont even think about learning to fly at "waist level".  Altitude is definitely your friend when learning.

Just my .02's</p>