Personally i prefer live. Its how i started and when i turned 21 I was at foxwoods every weekend i could. I love the feel of casinos, and the poker room especially, its not so much a grind. You can talk with the people there, the dealer, and everything feels REAL.
Moving allin online is a completly different feeling from moving allin at the live table. I love it, online to me takes some of the fun out of it.
There are many benefits also to playing live, and reading your opponents for me is a big one. I always use tells in my game. I pay attention.
EX. Last time i was at the live table I picked up a tell on this guy. Everytime he would raise and say out loud "Raise" or the amount such at "$40" It was a
bluff or he was weak. Every other time he had a hand or felt strong, he would just throw the chips in. The point being a lot of times players act strong when they are weak, and weak when they are strong.
you just don't have that kind of stuff online. How long someone takes to call isn't dependable because he could be doing it on purpose or who knows he is multi-tabling 5 tables, or stepped away. Point being you have no idea whats going on on the other end of the computer.
The atmoshere is great too. Well good luck!
-A