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I had that same decision maybe five years ago. I decided to upgrade to Aspire. I can't remember the amount but I don't think it was $1300. Upgrading from 9 to 10 was $400 or something like that so your spending won't end once you get Aspire. They charge for every major release.
I took advantage of an offer a couple of years back and upgraded to Aspire. You are just going to have to figure that there will be an expense of $400 to $500 every 18 months or so for the new and improved version. I will say that V10 is pretty nifty. Over the years they have turned this into a really intuitive program. You can choose to download projects or create your own. The software is relatively easy to work with and well supported.
As far as the different prices that is just modern day marketing. Why should my zip code determine what price I pay for a car? Well it does! I guess the same is true for software. If the computer on the other end believes you are in England one price, if it thinks you are a Yankee, another. I have a VPN and get a real kick out of shopping for airline tickets and using a repeater in England or Spain. The difference in price is astounding. A $1400 dollar U.S. ticket can be bought in England for $400. Same airline, same seat.