My 1st acoustic guitar was a 12-string, bought new in 1967. I was primarily an elec 6-str plyr prior & for a long time thereafter, but cumulative time spent learning how [for me] to "work with" a 12-string has stuck with me.
1) Agree, certain things are actually "easier" on a 12 when one can grasp the illogic of finding some melody notes on the octave-string of a lower-pitched course.
2) I almost immediately began using open tunings & a bottle-neck on my 12. 1st for my ver of "No Expectations", then to [badly] emulate Leo Kottke. Open tunings on a 12 can be really orchestral.
3) If the "octave-string-up" thing bugs you, consider re-stringing the way Rickenbacker 12-strings were/are - octave strings "down" [towards the floor]. This could entail getting a new nut and perhaps saddle if you stuck with this but could be test-flown as-is. Intonation might be a tad wonky & the fat strings might sit high or "proud" in the octave-strings' nut-slots but it'd give you an idea.
At one point in the '90s I had 3 elec 12s & 2 acoustic 12s, but am now happy with just '67 Fender Villager XII as a "beater" and '84 Guild F-45CE-NT 12. Welcome to "twelves-ville"!
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