Birth control advice: how do you feel about the IUD? (please, only girls who choose this method)?

I'm thinking about changing my birth control to an IUD, since I'm planning on leaving the U.S. for two years and don't want to be bothered trying to maintain my current BC regiment while abroad. One of my girl friends is a walking advertisement for the non-hormonal IUD, but I wanted to get other opinions: any thoughts? Upsides? Downsides?Birth control advice: how do you feel about the IUD? (please, only girls who choose this method)?
I use Merena- (sp?) just had it put in about 2 months ago. So far so good. Slight cramping sometimes, and my period was surprisingly heavier than normal... but i think it takes your body a few cycles to adjust to the iud and get back to normal. All things considered, I'm loving the fact that I don't have to take a pill every day. Oh- and Mirena uses a low dose of hormone. It's not the same as the old school non-hormonal copper IUDs that our moms used.