Go find and check out your local club. Talk to the instructors there, and get what they recommend.

The reason for that bit of advice is that if the instructors in your area are familiar with the plane, radio, engine, motor, batteries, etc etc it will be easier to get help.

Personally, I think a .40 or .60 size glow trainer is the easiest thing to learn on. Lots of good options in the .40 size range, and lots of solid .40 and .46 size engines that run great.

To save money, SPADs are a great way to go. Your first SPAD will be a little harder to assemble than a first ARF, mostly because the techniques are different than what you might be used to. But they can't be beat on low cost and durability. And once you are used to building them, they are really fast to put together. www.spadtothebone.com

Electrics are good in many cases, and there are electric setups that fly 10-15min and can handle the wind and so on, but they tend to get expenseive. The inexpensive electric park flyers are good for learning on your own with out an instructor, but they aren't as good in the wind and they may not fly that long on a charge.