I assume this process is speeding up as there's now so much more hype and info out there, but it still must be a long time for some people go through the process of hearing about it, learning what it is, deciding to get some and then actually buying it.
As for myself, I first read about it in 2009 but didn't get my hands on any until 2013. So four years for me. Silly me. But I did forget completely and that was quite easy back then.
Well,for my case I first heard about Bitcoin back in 2014.at the time I was seeing alot of faucets popping out of nowhere.But I didn't knew what was Bitcoin concept.
1 year and a half later I was using Paypal to deal with payments online and Paypal pissed me off literally,and from that day I started seeking for an alternative.And bingo! I discovered Bitcoin and I was really happy that finally I could replace Paypal.
So yeah, 1 year and half.If only I discovered it earlier!