I have an Elizabeth Ann Buckleberry (longissiumum x rothschildianum) that I got this summer from a friend who said it didn't like her conditions (she can't grow phals well either, but her catts are amazing).
It had a few roots that were ok and it had just started a new growth. Well, I read that they like phal conditions but I wanted to mount it so I would be sure that it's few roots wouldn't rot. I hung it about 6" below my t5 bulbs. It's growing insanely fast and putting out roots from the lead and previous growth. It's about 85 degrees where it is and although I have kinda low humidity there, it gets watered once a day and it's growing like a weed. This is supposed to be an easy one to grow however, and in my case, that has proved correct.

Anyway, I think anything is easy to grow if your conditions match those of a plant's native habitat and you give it water. So the best thing is to research those conditions and know your own and buy those that should grow well in those conditions. That really is the best thing to do. Phals grow like weeds for me under shop lights on a lower shelf because the temperatures there are perfect for them, but the cattleyas don't do as well because they are under hot lights in a house that doesn't get as cool as it should at night in summer so they are sometimes challenging because I'm always messing with my grow are trying to make them happier. But when I was lucky to have a window, they all did really well. It's not that I don't know how to care for them, it's just that I don't have ideal conditions for them. So if you like a challenge, get something a little more risky, but if you want them to be low maintenance, get ones with culture suited to your area.