Haha, I am and will always be a huge fan of the LS. Why did I trade? Nope gas wasn't getting to me; I traded in when gas was $2/gallon. A number of reasons- after 7 years of ES/LS I was ready for a change, I wanted something with more head and legroom, better seats, something just more modern in general, iPod integration, useable cup holders, better fuel economy, lower maintenance costs, better headlights, the hatch functionality is nice, etc. The biggest reason was I was just ready for a change. Also, my LS needed a few repairs and maintenance items, and I just didn't want to sink any more money in to it (timing belt was coming up, it needed a windshield, shocks, etc.) at the service department, and I didn't want to work on it myself. The other car I considered was a Sonata Limited which was extremely nice, but it just didn't excite me -- probably because I already had a nice 4 door and that's what the Sonata is too. Then, I drove the Prius, and when I left the dealer, I couldn't stop talking about it -- it definitely has the X factor that I was looking for. After the first drive, I thought it over for several weeks and test drove it again 3 or 4 more times before buying.
Yep, I've been done with school for almost two years. I work in operations management for a liquid storage terminal company that's right outside New Orleans. It's a great job.