I'll be the contrarian here. Both my bike are 1X9. Usually a simple hex wrench set will take care of the brake, grip and chain ring removal and re-application. If you don't have a 11-34 cog rear cassette, that might help with any range of conditions one might encounter, once you determine your fitness level(strength on hills) and how fast you want to go in the flats. I've found that the Sheldon Brown gear calculator is an invaluable tool to help determine the chain ring size for the performance you're looking for.
http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/
Changing to an unramped and unpinned chainring and switching to a short cage derailleur also lessens the chance of your chain coming off.
Biking is supposed to be simple and fun. Call me dense, but having not to think about the various gear combination and cross chaining is a liberating experience, not to mention the weight savings.