Yeah, been using 8.1 for almost a year now on my home PC and for a few months at work. It definitely was confusing and frustrating at first, but, after learning a few useful keyboard shortcuts (most importantly win+s to search, akin to the search bar in start menu), i feel entirely comfortable with it.
Don't really miss the start menu thaaaaat much anymore, actually i'm more excited about what they've done with the command console and other things.