I absolutely know what you mean by character...but you aren't giving anything a chance. If you don't take the time to learn about the snake...how it responds to various things, what makes it tick...how do you figure you will know if it has "character"? Because it isn't biting you? or do you want it to try desperately to get away when you try to hold it? Believe me, that stuff gets old fast - then you have a snake full of character that you are trying to get rid of. Let me ask you this: What is the longest you have kept any one snake?...not how long have you worked with a given species, but kept one specific snake. If you don't take the time to learn what a snake is like, how do you expect to appreciate the differences? I've kept burms, rocks, retics, anacondas, bloods, Bci, carpets, ETBs, ATBs, cobras, rattlers,(and the list goes on)...and they are all different. Sure there are some similarities, but there are differences between the species, AND the individuals.
On the other end of that discussion, if you are having a hard time finding something you can "cope" with, you shouldn't be looking at retics or rocks. Grow a midsize snake to adulthood...house it, feed it, keep it healthy. Get a feel for things before you try going for the big guys...Do you even have any idea of the long range costs associated with owning a large snake? Or are you just going to be another one of those people that decides they don't want to deal with it when it gets too big (or develops a personality that you can't "cope" with)...given what I have seen here, I suspect that to be the case. You could prove me wrong, who knows...maybe all you need to find is the "right snake." But will you even recognize it when you do?...or will it be gone before you realize how great it is?