I never had incredibly thick or dark body hair to begin with, so I found epilating my body hair to be the most effective over the long run. It was very painful the first time or two, but for me, quickly got to the point of barely feeling it. I figured out that using a clipper first, getting the hair down to 1/4" or less, eased the pain a fair bit, but it still took a couple of stiff shots of tequila to do some areas. Also, spreading fragrance-free antiperspirant deodorant on the epilated area (especially pubes and inner thigh areas) significantly reduces the red bumps folks like me are prone to getting after shaving or epilating.
Now, the hair that does grow back, which isn't much, is largely blonde and very fine so I barely feel the epilator now. I also drink 2 to 4 large mugs of spearmint tea most days, which has helped. Finally, estradiol has had a huge effect on my body hair, so I strongly recommend waiting to see what effect that will have versus rushing into whole body laser or electrolysis.