I got my PP-ASEL last year in New Jersey. There are two reasons why
you should go ahead and do it:

1. You haven't missed the boat. There is still plenty of fun to be had
at reasonable costs. I have flown over New York City and Boston a
bunch of times, I have flown from Boston to Maine for the weekend, I
have flown to the Hamptons for lunch and returned by starlight. When I
went on vacation in Hawaii I rented a plane and flew all over the Big
Island. And that's just a few things I've done, in a few months,
without even flying that regularly. Even living up here in the
northeast winter, I haven't had to cancel for weather many times. And
if I take 3 passengers with me, which I normally do, the cost is under
$30 / hour per person, all in. I rent from clubs (one in Boston and
one in NYC) which is incredibly easy to organize - a 1 hour checkout
with a club instructor and you're cleared to rent their planes.

It is true that there are some worrying trends in GA, but look at the
ever-increasing hassles of scheduled commercial flights.

2. The training itself is fun. If you have a decent instructor, going
through the training is a fun and rewarding experience. And the
feeling you get when you pass the checkride is unbelievable.

One piece of advice - do the training quickly. Clear out some time so
you can get it all done, from start to finish, in a handful of months.
If you do it this way it is easier and cheaper, and you are less
likely to encounter frustrations along the way. I did it in 10 weeks
by taking a week off to get started (during which I did 15 hours), and
then flying about 15 more half days on weekends over the remaining 9
weeks. I would thoroghly recommend this method - I passed easily in
just over the 40 hour minimum.

Have fun, and let us know how you get on.

Tom