Fob, didn't you say your inseam was like 31" or something? Even if you lower a KLR you're still going to have dangling tippy toes on a very weighty, top-heavy bike.
The KLR 650 is as old as dirt and indestructible and if you're planning to ride from Edmonton to Ecuador, that's a great choice, but they're big, heavy and have an engine as lively as a tractor. It's low-revving and not very powerful at all, and if you're just trying to get used to the squirrelliness of riding off-road, it's a BIG handful to manage and pick-up everytime you drop it.
Finding a CRF250L, Kawi KLX250, or by some miracle, an affordable Yamaha WR250R will offer enough punch to have fun around town, on the trails and even get you up to highway speeds. I've ridden a CRF on a 3 hr ride on the highway into cottage country and it was fine. Your friends who say you need a KLR650 perhaps don't know that it only has, what, maybe 10 hp more than the much newer and lighter CRF, KLR or WR 250 options.
The default go-to bike I recommend for folks just starting out is the Kawi Z400. While it isn't suitable for any sort of off-road / trail riding at all, it is an excellent, reliable, easy-to-handle, good-value bike that is insanely fun even for a "learner" bike.