There are several great first pet T's to choose from. The T hobby is quite addicting, I may add.
I find terrestrials to be the best T's for handling, as arboreals tend to be fast and skittish. I really like the Grammostola species because I find them great for handling and for beginners. A couple good ones to look into are Chaco Golden Knees and Brazilian Blacks. They are both a very docile, calm tarantula. Grammostola have the potential to kick hairs, but not anything like Brachypelma. I have not once had any of my Grammostola species kick hairs.
Although Brachypelma tend to kick hairs, they can also be a great first T. They are terrestrial just as the ones I stated in the above paragraph. The one I love the most out of all is the classical Mexican Red Knee. They are docile and calm as well, and are just stunning in coloration. I would really suggest looking into them.
If you would like to have a T you can handle, I would definitely practice regular handling throughout the time they grow from slings to adults. At some points I would get into handling certain T's each day, but now since I haven't done this regularly they look at me with hungry eyes whenever I open up their tubs. Kind of like a feeding response that snakes can get LOL.
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