Yeah I'd like to take the time to actually learn how to work on it rather than take it to a luthier. I've always been the kind of person to work on my own stuff. I don't have any frets that are too bad with buzzing, but I could just be used to it too. The idea of filing them down scares me, but I have the tools to do it.
And yes, the Squiers vs. Mexican/American Fenders is all about durability. Any touring musician will tell you that a Squier simply won't hold up while steadily touring.
I tend to buy more affordable guitars because I just don't play enough to justify the $1000 price tag, but if I found the right guitar maybe.

Like I said next purchase will probably be a Epiphone Les Paul like my ex girlfriend had, but I also really want a double humbucker Telecaster(I think it's called the 1976 deluxe). There' also a Telecaster that has the Stratocaster style head-stock and at least one humbucker. I also really like the Jazzmaster, Jag-Stang, Mustang, and Jaguar Fenders, and they're all available in Squier releases now too :) I love the shape of those.
If I ever get another bass it'll probably be a Fender too.

And yeah, Les Paul's necks are set into a single piece of wood that widens out to become the body. Versus Fender's bolt-on necks. Fenders were designed as the first practical and efficient guitar to manufacture. With Gibsons a larger piece of wood was needed for each body, and a lot of it was going to be wasted. Fun fact: the original Gibsons used a wood for the body or neck(can't remember for sure) that's no longer available because the tree is a protected species now.