I have both. I prefer gimp because it's a lot easier, with a simpler layout. But yes, as mentioned above, I dislike the brush strokes, as well.
The price of photoshop is easily overcome. though, it's not such a big problem as people see it. It's not too hard to hack, and you don't get any viruses. Although a few functions are disabled in the process if you do it the way I did.