Also being a member of local flying club, many of the good folks down there are very experienced pilots with many hundreds of hours, whom must have considered commercial at some point, but for various reasons decided not to follow.
I think flying and owning a PPL with an IMC is one of the best things for anybody considering this ATPL route. Dont give OFT and others all of your crispies, keep them, buy a share in an aircraft and get your kicks flying when you like and under your say so, DONT GET SUCKED INTO THE ATPL BLACKHOLE and end up eating dog food, feeling bitter.
I think 98% of people considering commercial now would be quite fulfilled by this, without kicking themselves afterwards.