Almost made the transition years ago from sailboarding to kites when it first came out. Lots of sailing buds are now on kites.
Its not the same as snowboarding, if you have some sailing experience that will help. The difficulty with kites is that you are dealing with two bits of equipment that move independently of one another. Sailboarding is easier because the board and sail are connected via the universal joint. In the case of kites you are the universal joint and the one controlling both.
You should also have some experience flying aerobatic kites as the kites position in the sky will determine whether you are about to get launched at max power or not.
Kites have a wider wind range than sails and are easier to transport, the pain comes in dealing with the lines, having friends to help is a plus when you are starting out. I no longer have the time to sit on a beach waiting for wind so sailing of any kind is basically dead for me. All my friends are hooked but the learning curve is steep, much more so than snowboarding especially if you don't have much water sports experience such as water skiing sailboarding.
Hope this helps some.
