I just got 8.1 up and running last weekend and love it. I bought 8 for $39 last spring and then just loaded it. Been running Win 7 for about 4 years. Upgrade to 8 went well, a bit of trouble getting 8.1 loaded via the App Store. If you don't have 8 already, buy 8.1.
I am finding it more and more seamless from a Win 7 perspective. Yes, there isn't a "desktop" at start or a "start menu" but I am easily finding replacements. And for those apps that do not run in Metro UI mode I can easily switch with Alt-Tab.
You know you can pin desktop shortcuts to the start screen?