I guess it all depends on where you are as to what you will hear on a 2 m or 7cm repeater. Here in South Florida, I have a very active group I talk with every morning. Our traffic information has all the broadcast stations beat by a long shot. And after the Three Sisters (Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma) hit us, you could get dependable information on where to get food, which gas stations were operating, where the lines were while broadcast media was still busy patting itself on the back for the two day old forcast.

Its also different when you can do the talking as you have some control over the topic, just listening all the time can get tedious.

I hope you will go ahead and get your license, I've met a lot of nice people through amateur radio. I hope you won't deny yourself that.

Craig.