I say get one of the Ultra Sticks in the H9 line.
My 2nd plane was a Sig 4 * 40....it was a great second plane but when I flew it I was always nervous, it was pretty fast for me and small. It floated a lot with the light and long wing. It took me a while to learn how to land the 4 * correctly to even get it to land on the field. Once I learned to land, it was better...until it crashed on a windy day on landing. I flew it about 100 flights and I can say that it taught me a lot of good things.
My 3rd plane was a US 120, I absolutely fell in love with it! I even got another US 120! There is also a US 60 in the hangar. Call me crazy, but I just love the versatility of them. The flaps slow the plane down and make it float right on in. The plane can be just as lazy as a trianer or as aerobatic as an extra and a cap, just not as precise. I flew the Stick in 20-25 mph wind with gusts even stronger once and actually suprised myself with a fairly level, slow, smooth landing! The wing makes the plane hard to stall at such slow speeds, especially with crow.... Though I will never fly in such wind again.
It has proven to be a good ARF for modifications as you can see if you do a search on Ultra Stick in these forums...that could be a good or a bad thing...If you have the time, the modifications are fun to do. I have a site with info about the mods, and you can find a bunch of info here. You were saying that you wanted to get a BIY plane, but if you go the ARF road the US is a great one to look into and modify.
The Sticks IMO are a great plane to grow into. Once you can figure out the mixes and such, the plane is a blast. The manual explains the mixes pretty well...good enough for me to understand . Though the extra money for the servos is added, if it is affordable, the UStick would be a great plane!

Good luck on your decision,
Chix