One word... AWSOME!!!
The Parallax BOEbot is a great way to get started for several reasons:
The kit is very popular with schools and has been proven as a stable, solid, reliable platform
The support forum is very, very, very active and you can get answers to any questions you may have
The support from Parallax is world class... any issue with your order is taken care of quickly and efficiently
I got started in robots about 8 years ago with a BOE and learned a lot! Funny thing is, 8 years later, and I am still learning... that is what is great about robotics!