Turned into an interesting debate.
For me Fuji just about summed it up, not only is the JAA IR an unrealistic rating to obtain due to the cost implications but once you have got it its bloody expensive to keep! I knew I needed the IMC experience under my belt in case things got hairy one day and looked at the IMC Rating, when I realised for a few quid more I could get the FAA IR and get GIVEN the IMC Rating when I passed I thought why not.
It opens up a completely new aspect of flying once you do get it. I have just spent 3 weeks flying round California and the weather could have been describe at best as absolute crap!! It was IFR in and out of LGB most of the time and for a lot of the time I was there the PPL students were grounded, one guy had been there 5 wks and managed 30hours flying due to bad weather.
Its interesting about the point of view that certain areas in the UK are hallowed ground for the big boys, finding yourself in lower airspace and stuck there is pretty poor really. The US has a completely outlook on it - the sky is there for everyone who has the appropriate rating, if you have an IR you can use it pretty much where you want. Anyone who has flown in the US will know its not uncommon for them to hold up a full passenger carrying flight for you in your PA28, everyone in an aircraft is treated as an equal. I fly SOCAL quite a bit and with quite a dense cluster of airports around (Long Beach, San Diego, John Wayne) and Los Angeles not far away the traffic routing can get very busy. The SOCAL staff hold it all together pretty much impecably though with you rarely orbiting and very rarely going into the hold.
Im with Gengis, a basic IR rating for the PPL and then bolt on ratings if you want to use for anything more, such as an ME IR. Revalidation through currency firstly and option to recertify through a IR INSTRUCTOR rather than an examiner if you bust your currency requirements.