Wet v's Dry Diving

I'm a fairweather diver, and only get the chance once a year on holidays… But after one year out, you need to do a refresher… I'd rather spend that time doing fun dives… I enjoy it but also no intention to ever use twin sets or progress beyond my Advanced Open Water… So I'm considering getting a semi-dry suit for use in ireland, so I can get one or two dives in a year and keep on top of skills. I'd be okay with just diving late spring to early autumn, but are these semi dry suits really effective? I hear a lot about them being temporary solutions on the way to buying a drysuit… but in all honesty, I won't get enough benefit from a drysuit based on the cost and the care that they require over a semi dry…