I tried to move away from the legacy free Google Apps thingy when they threatened to force everyone to pay business rates and even though Gmail isn't what it once was, the competition isn't great either. The one that everyone keeps raving about is located in Australia (which has non-existing data protection laws), most privacy-focused ones are cumbersome and annoying (limited functionality, no IMAP, only our own apps, etc.), the big commercial ones are expensive (this is for family), and a few were half broken (IMAP should work but never did etc.) ... I found a single one from Europe that came reasonably close to Gmail, but then Google decided to keep their Google Apps thingy free for non-commercial use, and I'm happy I don't have to worry about those email accounts for at least a couple more years. Gmail works well in all respects, is well-supported everywhere, and since I'm using my own domain I retain the option of switching if need be. I don't think I have a single person I actually exchange emails with that wouldn't leak them to Google anyway, so why bother.
