Hi charlatan,
I'm a newcomer to this site also - welcome!
You asked if anyone has made the move over to chromatic...speaking personally, I've never really played anything other than a chromatic...the few times I did try a diatonic (albeit a cheapie that a seller threw in as a bonus when I bought a chromatic) I found it very limiting and soon got tired of it...when I think "harmonica" I always think chromatic...to me, anyway, as an "instrument" a chromatic is so much more versatile and once mastered (if even only partially so
) so much more fulfilling...
...easy to play? I've only been playing "seriously" for about 2 years now, but so far so good, and I had ZERO musical knowledge or experience prior to picking up my first Hohner 260 - which soon progressed to 16 holers, which is basically all I play now...thanks to this site and others, there's lot's of great advice and assistance available...
Just my 2c...
GeorgeIII