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I will limit my comments since @marcspaz has for the most part already said what I would have said. Assuming, for discussion's sake, your assessment of GMRS and CB is correct, it seems the real issue is your expectations and understanding of the radio services available to hobbyists. By your own definition, if GMRS is for talking to people on the same license, and nobody in your area has that need, what is the issue? If you have that need, then go ahead and setup those on your license with appropriate equipment to meet that need. But, don't claim GMRS stinks just because others aren't using GMRS in your area. (With the caveat, as @marcspaz notes, that you do not have some equipment issues). BTW, even if there were GMRS users in your area with the desire to talk to people on the same license, what makes you think they would or should want to talk to you? As for CB. Again assuming you are correct in stating the purpose of CB is to talk to people on different licenses, while CB has the ability to skip and allow communications over fairly large distances, it is generally intended for communications with others in the local vicinity and is particularly adapted for mobile communications. If you are in an area where there is no CB traffic, then that's just how it is. That is not, per-se, a problem, it is a fact. But, there is another option: Amateur Radio. This service would seem to check all of your boxes - in particular, a very active community and lots of options to join in. Depending on your choice of equipment, you can communicate around the block or around the world. The technicians license is not at all hard to get, and would give you a wide range of local communications options. The general license is a bit harder, but would, literaly, open up the world to you. My suggestion, stop bemoaning the way things are and asking the world to change and go find a way to change yourself (and maybe your expectations).

Circular polarization does work to make RF cut through difficult areas. I have not seen any commercially made circularly polarized antennas for UHF, but I can say that almost EVERY radio station on the VHF broadcast band (FM 88-108MHz) uses a cycloid, or other type of circularly polarized antenna system. The science is well proven for transmitting. The question would be: Can they receive as well? https://www.eriinc.com/product/1105-series-circularly-polarized-fm-antenna/ http://www.progressive-concepts.com/transmission-equipment/---Progressives-PCP-Circularly-Polarized-FM-Antenna_PT729.html

Please keep in mind, this is not meant to be belittling or to start an argument, but more to help you find something that will help with a hobby. At one point, I was homeless. I spent years on welfare with a young family. I can relate to being tight on cash and don't look down on or judge people based on their income. However and unfortunately, hobbies are for people with expendable cash and free time. Your career options based on your degree and the state of the economy are not really relevant to that fact. We have to adjust our spare time and entertainment into what we can afford. If getting $400 together is tough for you, I would recommend staying away from anything beyond an inexpensive radio that operates on a spectrum that is in use around you. I have to disagree with a good portion of this. Especially about the "purpose" of CB and GMRS. Depending on what service you are talking about, the purpose is non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, "radio sport", contesting, and emergency communication. Meaning, these services are provided for users to incorporate a common communications platform into your life and life activities, such as the aforementioned. If lack of radio contact is truly your experience, its not the bands or the service you are using. There is a very high likelihood that there are some significant flaws in your radio and/or antenna setup, and I will explain why. I live in Virginia most of the year, but I own a home in Hollywood and have family all over all over Florida, including Jacksonville, Daytona, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Winter Springs, Tampa, St. Pete, and Clearwater. CB and amateur radio are alive and well. I can't speak to GMRS yet, as I haven't been down there since I got my license, but I will be there to check on my house and visit family very soon... so we'll see. In fact, CB is doing so well in Florida that, while I am in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, I talk to guys all over Florida. (one skip hop is about 1,200 miles) When I am local, there is no shortage of people to chew the rag with while cruising down i-95, RT 301, i-4, etc. My best recommendation would be to get online and join local clubs. Find people who are close to you and are in the hobby. This will give you a new group of friends with like interests and likely introduce you folks that are technically skilled and able to help you get the most out of your equipment. Also, many radio clubs in and around each other have events that are like flea-markets, but its all two-way radio related. You can find great deals on some equipment that will run fine. I flip radios all the time because I get board with them or they don't have some feature I thought they did when I bought it. Just my humble opinion. Hopefully some of the things I mentioned will help you find the camaraderie with some local folks and help you enjoy the hobby.

Sorry if that sounded like it was directed specifically at you, it wasn't. I just meant other users might not be interested in talking outside their own user group. This is particularly true for family based groups where the communications tend to be limited to immediate practical matters (pick up some tomatoes while you are at the market...). BTW, A quick look at the RepeaterBook page for Florida seems to show a lot of activity on 2M Good luck with your ham ticket.

Pretty much how I look at it. Wife has been preaching to me for years about change yourself, you can't change anyone but that. Side story: In the D.C. area it is pretty much dead for simplex/repeaters on 2m and 70cm bands also with GMRS and CB, well at least up by Rockville. Spoke to a ham in my neighborhood for about an hour. Asked him if ham was really dead. He turned on a radio onto 70cm and started scanning simplex, turned on another radio and started scanning all the memory repeaters. 45 minutes of scanning and nada while we talked. Before I left he turned on a DStar radio it was just constant talking. His words were basically, it's not that we aren't out there. A lot of us are on different modes. Adjust your frame of thought a bit. The hobby is still alive and kicking just FM in our area is pretty quiet. I should add the Technician test is pretty easy. I personally, think I could of taken the test with about 3 days of study. Unfortunately, couldn't match any test times. Which resulted in a 3 week study time.