Got to agree with all the advice here. I chose the cheapest option when I started, and made what can be described as a fortunate mistake. The club I fly at is A1, but i think I just dropped lucky.
My own story is one of running out of money. Nowadays I fly about 5 hours per year to keep my hand in at the basics, this means I am approaching 30 hours in the book, and my last proper lesson was first solo 18 months ago.
The way a person learns a new skill means that there has to be continuity. For instance, my landings now, when I do fly, are well below par, certainly not good enough to go solo, and yet 18 months ago they were! My skills have gone rusty.
What does this mean for you? Well, we all know the feeling of stretched finances, aviation is never cheap, or inexpensive. To be engaged in this level of aviation you need to be either a millionaire or like most of us, be prepared to make the odd sacrifice in life to pursue a dream.
If you can afford a lesson every other week or so, then it will take you nearly twice as long as perhaps it should. Lesson one will no doubt be "straight and level". Lesson two if a couple of days later would be a little of this, and then onto turning or whatever. However if lesson two is a fortnight later, then it is probably going to be at least half an hour of revision, as you will have forgotten what to do in straight and level and will need to brush it up. And so the story carries on like that.
Furthermore, always remember that the elements rarely agree that pleasure flying is a good idea. If you book every other week, I will be surprised if you don't get weathered off at least once a month.
The Florida option is always a good one as you will concentrate your learning curve and the information will soak in better. In addition to this, as you are in another country, and in a purely aviation enviroment this will aid your learning as you will not be thinking "I've got to walk the dog, wash the pots, take the wife out etc..." on final approach!!
My advice, if you are young enough is save up!! When you have enough in the bank go and look at the schools around you. Also look at training abroad, Spain is an up and coming market in this respect, and you don't have to jump through hoops to get a visa either! When you have decided on a short list, if a foreign school, post again on here and get some feed back about the standards and the way training is done etc.
If you are looking at UK schools, go and book a trial lesson at two or three. You will not only get to see the school, meet the instructors and sample the aircraft, but you will be able to see what you get for your money. Don't forget that you can also put these hours in your log book!
For instance, when I chose my school, I had trial lessons at Barton, Manchester and Liverpool. LPL gave me everything that I was looking for at the right price!!! But don't forget that some schools charge landing fees seperatly. Not too great a problem in the early stages, but when you start on the circuit (landings and take offs) you will pay for every landing. This means that an hour in the curcuit costs say £100, and a landing is £5, six circuits will cost an additional £30, total lesson £130. This may be offset against a cheaper membership fee, but do your sums, a large membership fee and no landing fees may balance out better for you, or may be more expensive.
But the 3 best pieces of advice that I can give you are these...
1. DO NOT PAY UPFRONT
2. DO NOT PAY UPFRONT
3. MAKE NO UPFRONT PAYMENT
The history of learning to fly is littered with clubs who have gone belly up and taken all the students hard earned cash down the U bend with them. Be aware that running a flying club is not the way to make a fortune, sadly there are those who think otherwise, they aren't generally around for that long, but just long enough to take some poor sods money with them. A good, reputable club will have no problem with "pay as you go". Some offer packages, such as £500 for 5 hours for example, and these are a good idea, and will give you some sort of saving. Plus if they go belly up, you haven't lost it all. But if they insist on payment in full, upfront, WALK AWAY VERY QUICKLY!!
Whatever you decide to do, good luck and happy flying!