I have had mine for a month now, had also wanted them for years but didn't see how it would be manageable with work.
The main issue for me is wanting them to have quite a bit of space as well as not being tied into letting them out in the morning and/or locking them in at night which has meant £1000 investment between the coop, chicken guard and building a fox proof run. My neighbour built it for me so would have cost quite a bit more if I had had to pay someone to do it.
The coop is wood as I refuse to spend almost a grand on a tiny plastic coop which they will still get red mite in. They have a wooden coop for 6 and they are 3. The run is about 5 m long and is walk in.
I have also built tunnel from chicken wire so they can go on the lawn but only when I can see them.
The birds themselves, food and bits are not expensive, less than a cat, its the infrastructure that's expensive, but once you have that, it will last for years.
The poo is definitely a lot less than I expected. Everyone makes out theres a lot and it stinks when there isn't and it doesnt smell compared to cat/dog poo!
The coop takes 1 minute to pick pooh out in the morning, the run I do every day but I am fastidious so could be done less often. The key here is the correct products: i give them bokashi bran with organic pellets ( makes pooh firm and reduces smell, apart from every 8th one which is runny but that is normal) and nettex/biodri on coop and run floor which dries it out, disinfects and removes smell.
The first week they would run away and cower when I went into run, now one of them will sleep on my lap 
Mine were 16 wk pol so very healthy albeit impacted crops last week....! I do love them but would be prepared to sacrifice them if very ill rather than spend hundreds at the vets. I don't feel the same way about them as my cats for example.
Hope this helps!