To be honest, my local gym is great. I know the owners well and can use chalk etc, they have all the free weights etc, but at the end of the day I prefer to train at home with my own gear, I can listen to my own music and set everything up for just me. Since going to the expense of setting up my own things I can honestly say i am a much happier person. I agree to an extent that a gym is what you make of it, and i will train in them when I travel etc, but I much prefer to train at home in the comfort of my own pit of pain (as I have dubbed it LOL). I guess its a personal thing, but the other main factor for me was opening and closing times of my local gyms, they all open at 6am and close at 7pm around here, which I sometimes can't make due to work commitments, so having my own set-up eliminates this inconsistency in my training through no fault of my own. And before you say get a different job, around here there ain't any, believe me I've tried and am still trying. But I don't have to worry about this anymore as I have quality gear at my disposal @ home.