I had some time with a LQS that was OK almost.
Then I did decide to go to SLC for the HQ University and loved it. To me it was worth the expense.
However, now there is a local HQ group that meets once a month and has hands on work at a LQS. If this had been in place back when, then I definitely would NOT have gone to SLC. The local group is relaxed and we can contact someone here when we have a question. Because we know each other over a longer time span it is really fun.