I'm 47, a brown in traditional Okinawan karate. Been in for almost 4 years. Karate is the way.
If you'll pardom my unsolcited comment, mastery of one's chosen art is the way. I have no quarrel with any style so long as it fits you and you can make progress. I have a number of students with dan rank in TaeKwonDo who take Hapkido so as to round out their skills. As you probably know, the one knock on TKD is that there are no mat techniques. While that may or may not be true, depending on one's school, Hapkido definitely has mat techniques. It's the grappling, joint locks and throws that attracted me over seven years ago and I've stuck with it.
I studied Judo and Kempo before but HKD seems to fit me better. Good luck in your studies and don't quit!