I think they're great carry guns with a litanny of caveats. A few of my thoughts:
If you're going to carry a gun, carry a gun
all the time (so long as you're within the law). A full-sized, all-steel 1911 isn't hard to conceal (for me), but they're heavy. Have something smaller and easier to carry on stand-by to tote when you don't feel like strapping on the 1911. Leaving it at home or in the car because you're "just running a quick errand" is NOT something I recommend. A jerk named
Murphy WILL come along and rob the gas station while you "run in real to quick to get" something.
As a generalization, 1911s are finnicky. Period. If I could only have one gun to carry, it'd be something ugly, cheap, and known for being monotonously reliable.
When you first begin carrying, you might be semi-nervous about carrying a deadly weapon, and that's probably normal. Most people go through many guns and holsters before finding what they're comfortable with. Carrying something which is BIG right off the bat might increase you nervousness.
That being said, I'm a proponent of carrying the most gun you can. I'd recommend starting big and getting smaller as you experiment with different guns and holsters. Carrying a 1911 might seem like a breeze if you start off carrying an N-Frame Smith & Wesson. The other side of that coin is that carrying a sub-compact 9mm might seem impossible if you start off with a Kel-Tec P3AT.
Considering that you have 2.5 years to decide, I'd say go ahead and buy one. Even if you never carry it, everybody should have one at some point in their life. There's nothing wrong with relegating it to a mere "occasional range gun"; they're just fun to shoot, and pretty easy to shoot accurately for most people.
As far as carry goes, once you get the gun, research holsters, buy one, and just carry it concealed around your house. You'll figure out 90% of the problems you have carrying the gun concealed, and you'll probably be less nervous once you DO get to carry it in public.
If it's unlikely that you'll be able to afford another handgun or two to try out before you get your carry permit, I wouldn't suggest a 1911, but that's just my opinion. They have a considerable number of disagreable attributes, whereas some other options are relative "no-brainers" to me.