In reply to Sam W:
Your library and metadata should transfer to any decent XMP-aware software just fine, since you sensibly catalogued the files in-place, right ? (and even if not, you can still write out the metadata back into the files themselves from LR)
Photo Mechanic (used by all the PJs) just came out with its long awaited catalogue feature (Photo Mechanic Plus, currently in public beta), and so far it looks very interesting, especially with huge photo libraries. The price might seem a little steep (it's not, really, if you count the years of upgrades), but they don't use the subscription racket, and their support is world-class. I have been using their previous versions for photo culling for years.
Pair it with a non-subscription photo editor, and you are all set. I am looking forward to ditching Adobe myself.
Post edited at 21:05