Come by and join us sometime, then.
There are numerous posters here on EnWorld who expound the same experiences I do, so whether you've seen it or not, it's out there.
Yeah, the bolded part is very true. Establish your rules for running the game from the beginning. Multiclassing is optional, and about half the groups use it IME and from the polls, etc. I've seen online. The ones who avoid it do so because it is easily abused. Feats are much more commonly used in the game, with over 90% of groups using them, even if some nerf or restrict some feats.
But advancing in both classes is a great compromise IMO and one I encourage if players want to multiclass. You are giving up depth for breadth, giving yourself more options but not quite as much power. My preference is for no more than a 2:1 split. For example at 3rd level (becoming 2/1), and by the time you reach 6th you have to be 2nd level in the other class (4/2 or 3/3), etc. so by the end you are have at least 7 levels in your "lesser" class (13/7).