Sounds like you have two hobbies.

I am somewhat sympathetic to the argument about not being able to afford cards that meet condition requirements. I am a post-war set builder and have been trying to build sets that are raw and EX or better. What I enjoy about set building is the hunt. It takes me 2-4 years to finish a set because it takes a while to find cards in my desired condition at my desired price. I had pretty much decided that I wouldn't build any of the 1952 to 1954* sets because they all have multiple cards that far exceed my willingness (and in many cases my ability) to pay.

But, the thought had occurred to me to go in the exact opposite direction and build a 1954 set of absolute beaters. Every card would need to look like it was used as a baby's pacifier. That way, condition still matters, as it were, and the hunt is still there.

* I would have added 1955 to the list because of that Clemente RC, but I am only 11 cards from finishing.

I hear what the OP is saying.
Most of the collectors on this site are phenomenal in terms of their attitude, sharing of knowledge, etc. However, there is one member who, for years, posts with an air of arrogance and condescension, especially when listing in the B/S/T.

Our God-given right as collectors (and Americans) is to complain about everything. It is definitely a case of non-problem problems, whining about not being able to buy baseball cards, but it is what it is. I'd like to own a Ruth RC, a 1925 Exhibit Gehrig, etc., but I know they are now out of my reach permanently. Really it is that many of us older (fart) collectors are just pissed at ourselves for thinking we'd have all the time in the world to add many cards to our collections that we now are completely unable to afford, so we bitch about the investors and anyone who can afford it. Nothing new there: I remember 20-30 years ago when card shows were everywhere and the whole PSA thing was just getting into gear, talking to people at shows derisively describing the dealers who were into that stuff as the "Rolex crew" because they all seemed to wear gaudy Rolexes and flash cash as obnoxiously as a drunk in a Las Vegas casino. We'd all just skip the Rolex tables and go for the back of the show. I mean, who is gonna pay a premium for a common Goudey Ruth just because it is in some clunky case? Guess we missed the boat on that one...