I am a South Texas radio operator, KI5HOW. I got my Technician license a little over one year ago. I first got into the hobby through GMRS. There weren't many GMRS users in the area, even though we have GMRS repeaters. I dabbled with Zello for a while. In one of the Zello GMRS groups, members started getting their Ham licenses. So, I decided to get my amateur license too.
Most of my radio operation inculdes primarily using the RGV ARC repeater (http://rgvarc.org) repeater, the simplex calling frequency, a local DMR network, and of course a GMRS repeater that I co-own.
Much of the enjoyment in being a radio operator comes from being part of the club. We have a few Elmers with tons of knowledge who are willing to share and mentor.
I haven't been bitten by the DX bug as Zello and EchoLink fill the need nicely. We are starting to adopt Yaesu locally. It won't be long before we are on Wires-X. Although, I have yet to plunk down the cash for a Yaesu.