There are only 600k private pilots in the US? Dang, that's a small group of people I'm thinking I should join. Growing up flying with my dad, off-and-on, I had no idea the numbers were so small.
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It's only about 40-60 hours of time + $10K in costs to get your private pilots license.
Depends where you're learning. I'm looking more at 10-15k for 40-60hrs. Then again, 172 G1000 planes so...
Newer planes will cost more per hour, but glass is definitely the way to go. Shop around, each shop is going to offer different pricing based on what their costs are, and the aircraft time is the most expensive component (followed by fuel, then instructor time).
Disclaimer: I hold a private ticket, and 10 years later still haven't found time to get my instrument or multi-engine. Life happens!
"Only" $10,000.
~3-4 months of tech worker disposable income to fly a plane. Yeah, only.
You can use airnav.com to find small airports near you and make a visit and ask for recommendations on who to talk to about getting a demo flight. They're usually 30 min or so and run about $100. You'll find out pretty quickly if this is for you or not.
Airplane people are either very helpful or old curmudgeons; but mostly the former. Most are really happy to help someone get started. General aviation can use all the help it can get.
Total unscientific observation but where I live (southern California) local airport seems to have less planes parked than maybe a 1-2 decades ago.
If I recall correctly, the parking area of the airport used to be packed with small single engine planes. Now, it's kinda empty.