Just made this decision (as an experienced player). The other comments are pretty solid, ultimately a DP is great for dipping your toes in and a 1k digital is

Just made this decision (as an experienced player). The other comments are pretty solid, ultimately a DP is great for dipping your toes in and a 1k digital is probably better than a 1k acoustic. That said as I heard someone say there is something magical about the physical and sonic experience of playing an acoustic and feeling the sound reverberate through you and hear all that resonance. Until you get to the top end of digital pianos (like your Kawai CA99 / Novus 5S) which have a soundboard or you're a very clued up audiophile, you'll never get close to replicating that physical experience and for some people it's that magic that makes them fall in love with the instrument. I ended up going digital as I like playing at all hours of the day and can practise in ways that will drive people crazy (I recently spent ~100 minutes working on a single bar of Chopin nonstop without break after having too much guarana in an acai paired with a coffee). My other half also pointed out that given how much I love playing, will practising/playing with a mute pedal on be enjoyable enough if I'm always holding back. If you have the budget you can also look at silent pianos, I considered one but the one in my local Yamaha showroom was poorly regulated which gave me cold feet but a decent silent should carry you pretty far.