This is as much a religious debate, on the order of Mac vs PC, as anything.

I started in the hobby in March and "assembled" an electric ARF and then an LT-40 ARF. At the time I didn't know the difference between CA and epoxy. I probably would have given up if I had tried a kit.

Your post seems to indicate you don't intend to fly until spring, so that eliminates one of the strongest arguments for ARFs, that you can get in the air much (much) faster.

That said, if you decide to go with a kit, I'd recommend several things. First, double the time estimates. Even my ARF had several "let this cure over night steps" that ended a building evening. Two, make sure you have an LHS or (more preferably) an experienced builder who can look at your plane as it progresses. The best possible situation would be where you had someone who could come over and look at it, since packing up bits and pieces and hauling them to the field or LHS is a pain in the butt.

Oh, one final thing, I felt that there was enough building involved on my LT-40 (which took me about 30 hours to finish) to give me quite a sense of accomplishment.

All in all, I would say that if you feel intimidated by the thought of building, build your SECOND kit and not your first.

GB