I'm not a heli guy but love to fly planes. Crashing and fixing over and over gets old in a hurry.
Think about the a flight sim to help with the learning curve. Go to Realflight.com and check it out.
As far as what to buy go to horizonhobbies.com and check it out. Even an ARF heli will need some
setup that you wont be able to do. Mainly in the radio trim and setup. Have fun and good luck.
later daveo