I’m willing to bet that feedback wasn’t as much about pain as it is about how having a full frontal neck piece changes your life. There’s a reason that hands, neck, and face were long considered in US tattoo culture to be some of the last parts done. If you haven’t lived as a heavily tattooed person, even in today’s society, you don’t know how it can affect so many facets of your day to day. The folks who are advising you to work your way there are giving you valuable advice worth considering.