(Greg Hopp) writes:

And besides, I like the idea of flying in uncontrolled airspace
squawking VFR, at least the local controller can tell controlled a/c
"there's VFR traffic 4 miles at your 10 o'clock, we're not talking to
him."

Don't count on it. Travis Approach, our local AFB with trainee
controllers, is notorious for being unreliable in pointing out
traffic. One time I was on a head-on collision with another plane,
saw it, evaded, all without a word from Travis.