I pay (or my DF does for me - was my birthday pressie in September) €27 for one time a week and that's per month.

I love my gym, there are tons of great machines (no waiting), classes galore, weights and fitness equipment, it's nice and clean, there is a sauna as well

Wow... America seems to have lots of cheap gyms! I'm jealous. Haha, not really because I do really like my gym. So far I've only been to two different ones:

When I lived in Germany I paid €60 (around US$80) a month for a gym that was half an hour away from my house... it was however 5 mins from my school, but I liked going in the evenings to spend time away from my host family (we really didn't get on). I paid extra for handtowel service but lockers, classes, showers and the sauna were included. Classes were excellent but there weren't many cardio machines at all and no TVs or music.

My gym in Australia is SO good. I pay the student rate of AUS$60 (US$46) a month. They have a massive cardio room, so there's never any wait, with a big wall of TVs! They also play music throughout. There is a cycle studio and two other rooms for classes. The class timetable is pretty good, I'm just getting a little bored with them cause I go so often, lol. There is also a good stretching/free weights area, a huge weights hall and a circut area.

I actually just joined 24 Hour Fitness today because it was the best gym in the area, especially for the price. The only other real options were a gym that may or may not be on the verge of going bankrupt and the YMCA. My boyfriend and I paid $273 (including tax) up front for registration fees and initiation fees for me (he was my add-on person and his were free as a promotion because the gym JUST opened on Feb 22nd), as well as first and last months dues for both me and bf. Monthly rates are $29 a person. It might not be cheap, but we worked out the prices for our other options and 24 hour fitness was only about $7 more a month overall. We figured that for much better equipment and more machines, it was worth it.
The other gym only had maybe 15 cardio machines, whereas 24 Hour Fitness has TONS, more than I cared to count. 24 Hour Fitness also includes all classes with their membership dues. Personal training is extra, but seemed quite reasonable compared to what I'd heard of elsewhere.
Like I said though, we just signed up today, so I still don't know much about "real" gym life there. I'm thinking positively though considering it's a brand new location, so all of the equipment is brand new and state of the art.

I do belong to the most expensive Y in the universe! ($43/month without access to saunas and stuff). It's nice to have my suspicions vindicated.

senorita: The gym I belonged to in Melbourne a couple of years ago was the most beautiful gym in the world. It was expensive, but going there was a visual treat--deep colors on the walls, thousands of cardio machines, a big pool you could see from the cardio mezzanine, and, best of all, a coffee/snack cafe in the lobby, so you could sit by the pool with an espresso at the end of a workout. They also had giant bowls of low-cal cereal bars that you could grab to munch on as you were leaving. <sighs dreamily> I loved that gym. It was worth the price.

I think I'll go ahead with Spectrum, even though it's quite expensive. I just can't beat how close it is to my house, and my cousin had problems with Gold's Gym when she had a membership there. Plus, paying that much will ensure I go often enough to get my money's worth. This place doesn't have a cafe or sell supplements like most other gyms I've seen (nor does it sell ice cream like the gym on base in Norfolk did!), something I truly appreciate.

I pay $469/year for just me ($39) for a gym with no pool, no sauna, no fancy stuff. Very very small. I pay by the year so I could negotiate childcare down to $100/year for both kids. (Childcare is also only available 9-11am and 5-7 pm which kinda sucks)

Its the only game in town and I think it is very over priced, but its my only choice.

I could currently join a Ballys for $99/year (not including childcare) but they are a bit too far away.

My Y is the same way. But it is the only gym in town that has early morning classes each weekday, and that is the most important thing to me in choosing a gym. I love aerobics classes, and I love working out before work. At the other gyms, which are lower-priced, there are early morning classes a maximum of 2-3 days/week. I figure it is worth paying more to get the type of workout I need/want. And I know that my dues go to support other Y services.

I pay $30/month at Bally's. It is a no frills place, but they do keep the locker room clean and I'm not afraid to shower or use the sauna there. Heck, I even drink from the drinking fountains. And the cardio equipment that I want to use is generally available when I want to use it. The most important factor for me, though, was the location. It is 5 min. from my house; I can walk to it if I want. I knew from past gym experiences that a convenient location would be key to my using it. I would have paid any price they asked.

Nelie--how did you get a nationwide Bally's membership for only $8/month? That is incredible!