My solution was to take up competition aerobatics as soon as I passed my PPL.
Like most of us, from a very young age I had been fascinated by aeroplanes and I had always wanted to learn to fly. I thoroughly enjoyed my PPL training, largely due to the satisfaction and interested to be gained from learning something new.
However, the thought of spending the rest of my days flying a PA28 from my local airfield to another in a straight line just because I could chilled me to my core. Gliding only offered the chance to stand around on a cold airfield all day listening to some old boys banging on about their flying experiences, with very little actual flying being possible even on a good day.
Aerobatics provides me with constant exhilaration every time I fly, constant learning of new and challenging skills over and above just air experience, the opportunity to fly interesting, high performance aircraft and friendship with a vibrant and likeminded crowd of fellow competitors whom I consider to be great friends.
I am fairly unusual in the aerobatic world in that I don't own a share, but rent something suitable - this allows me to fly as and when funds allow without a large financial outlay. Even so, I don't consider aerobatics to be excessively expensive. I fly about 30 hours per year in 30 minute bursts.
Cross country flying is a necessary part of getting to the contests, but I consider it to be just that, a necessity. If that constituted my main flying activity, I would have given up long ago.
CC