A few points from reading all of these posts.
First, AMA coverage is secondary, or "supplemental" coverage. This is very common in the insurance business. For example, if something gets stolen out of your car, it might or might not be covered by home owners--but it definitely won't be until your car insurance has paid/denied. And, they certainly can't pay on claims to members families--can you imagine all of the frivilous claims?

Second, AMA is more than just insurance. Insurance is one important benifit, but there are others. Read in the magazine sometime, and you'll see all of the stuff they do for us. They are in constant fights with the FAA to protect our frequencies. You know how crowded frequencies can be at the field--what if the number of channels gets cut in half?

Third, you also get an interesting magazine to read each month. There is usually at least two or three articles in there worth reading, and new product reviews.

As far as grumpy goes--grumpy is everywhere. It's the society we live in today, and sometimes older people blame younger people on the world's problems--right or wrong. You don't have to go to a flying field to be around grumpy old people. Go to walmart, or the lake, or any other public place--they're everywhere. Also, some very good, helpful older people are there as well. Don't feel like all old people are grumpy--it's simply not true.

If I were you, I'd join the "not so nice" field. You made it sound like it was cheaper, and had a very nice field, just not so many ammenities. Are you planning on float flying anytime soon? Are you planning on flying when it's really cold? (well, scratch that, I see you're in SD). You may find that at the smaller club (I assume it's smaller), the people will be more willing to help. Sometimes, those large, fancy clubs have members that have been around forever--and, frankly, they feel like they have enough members to pay the bills, and don't need no young whippersnappers around screwing things up. Just my take on some large, fancy clubs. I know the older guys at my club are awesome. Most would give the shirt off their back to help you out, and it's a small club out in the middle of nowhere!

One other point about the insurance, and I'll shut up. Just because you're flying in a field a mile away from civilization, let's not forget that your about one glitch or radio failure away from your plane flying potentially miles away from you at speeds up to 70 mph or more--potentially into a crowded area you never dreamed your plane would end up in. There are posts on RCU from members who have had their planes fly away--and just keep flying, and flying, and flying...