About the Lego store:
I always wanted one as a kid, but I had no money and they were expensive, so I never had any real Lego (although my parents gave me cheap copies).
Now I am grown up and although I have the money to buy now I also have the responsibility. I do crave and want to buy, but I realized they are still expensive, maybe even more (due to inflation and dollar price increase versus my currency).
Still, this weekend I also went to a local Lego store and had fun looking at the many cool stuff they have, just did not have the guts (nor the wallet) to buy anything. Was fun though, I felt like a kid in a candy, or a Lego, store hahaha
I agree, Lego are really expensive but I know compared to the knock offs, they are much better quality, and hold much better. I saw my nephews playing with the knock offs recently, when he showed me what he made, I picked it up and a chunk fell off!!!
I had a lot of joy browsing in the store on this occasion, and like you, I found that quite satisfying as I wasn't going to buy anything anyway.
I have watched people reviewing Legos. The joy, for adults, seems to be the process of building those large stuff, like a guy was super happy building a Millenium Falcon (Star Wars) on youtube for hours.
That just made me realize I am grown up and don't really have the time, but I can dream to have it someday (both time and money).