IO540,
Personally I've rarely managed to fly anywhere for a purpose. I've never lived close enough to an airfield to make it worthwhile, or owned an aircraft so that it's free when I want it. Good point though.
I didn't mean you qualify to fly all those things I mentioned; I meant give them a try. Not sure where anoraks comes into it either.
Yes, buying into something straight after the PPL is one option. I nearly took it, thought for too long, and discovered helicopters. Ended up broke and owning nothing, but had lots of different experiences and don't regret any of it.
It all depends what you want. But there is definitely no lack of things to do post PPL. And not all of it is all that expensive.
I suspect that after having had one's flying organised and decided by someone else for so long, some people just can't cope with having to make their own decisions. I recall panicking slightly post PPL, because no-one told me what I should do next. For me, that stage didn't last long. Maybe it does for some.