It's a mid-range camera (above an entry level) and while any DSLR can be used in fully automatic mode (which might be what you mean by "user friendly"), you'll get more interesting and creative results by learning how exposure and lighting works.
A DSLR provides a couple of benefits.
Since the lenses are interchangeable, you can use lenses optimized for the shooting situation -- whereas a point & shoot without a removable lens doesn't offer you that flexibility. This means not only that you have more lens choices (substantially more choices), it also means you have choices for much better lenses.
Since the camera lets you control exposure, there are some physics of exposure that dictate the look that an image will have and this lends itself to some creative photography. For example, do you want maximum content in focus (such as a landscape) vs. minimal content in focus with blurred backgrounds, etc. These are things you typically cannot control with a point & shoot, but a DSLR with the appropriate lens you can achieve this.
Photography and use of the camera is relatively easy to learn the basics... you can spend your lifetime mastering the nuances. The camera is a tool -- on it's own it won't guarantee great results. But if you spend the time to learn how to exploit it, your diligence will be rewarded with fantastic results.
As it is a mid-range camera, it retains some user friendly / entry-level camera features that high-end cameras don't have. For example... it has "scene" modes. You can tell the camera what type of shot you plan to take (portrait, landscape, sports, child, sunset, etc.) There's actually a fairly long list of these preset "scene" modes -- 18 of them. You tend to not find "scene" modes on pro camera bodies because experienced shooters know that all of this is achieved by recognized when to use a large aperture vs. a small aperture or a fast shutter speed vs. a slower shutter speed, so they tend to just use their experience to manually select appropriate values that get great results.
However... as it is a "tool", you'll be getting better results sooner if you learn to take control of the camera. Even using the presets the camera won't always give you optimum results (no camera will). So it's best to understand WHY you would select certain exposure settings based on the results you want.
There are some great books on this:
A popular single book intended for those just beginning to learn to use a DSLR is Bryan Peterson's "Understanding Exposure"
Another good resource is Scott Kelby's "Digital Photography" series (a boxed set of four books).
Both are highly recommended.
Just one more thing... cameras aren't quite like cars where there's a new model EVERY year. The entry-level bodies tend to get refreshed more frequently. The mid-range slightly less frequently. Pro bodies tend to get the very best features but the least frequent updates. The D7000 has been around for several years. The D7100 is the replacement body -- though you can still get both. At some point Nikon will stop producing the D7000 and Nikon would presumably come out with another follow-on product (e.g. D7200, D7300, and so on.) The D7100 has quite a few upgrades yet the price difference is only about $100. You may want to check out the D7100 as well.
