Jules,
Sorry for your loss of the E-500. The E-PL1 is a great little camera and is definitely worth the price. As has been mentioned (by BBW), if you are in the vicinity of B&H or Adorama, you should check out what they can offer you. One real consideration as you move from the E-500 to the E-P's is the lack of the optical viewfinder. If you review the threads here, you'll see that the VF-2 (electronic view finder) is an accessory for your consideration(it's view is equal to my E-3 and works only on the E-PL1 or E-P2). That being said, there is a decision you may want to make before buying the E-PL1. In our case, I bought the E-PL1 for my wife, who loves the size and felt the feature set would assist her in learning the use of aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. The decision to buy the E-PL1 was more of a knee jerk in that we could get it, on sale, at the local BB (box store) and that we would definitely get the VF-2 later. LATER, in our case, was within a week, at a combined cost that equaled some of the Amazon on-line sellers' prices for the E-P2 kits that included the 14-42 lens and the VF-2. It is very hard and pricey to get your hands on the VF-2 anywhere.
At this time, I have no regrets about the E-PL1, but I do think that we might of opted for the E-P2 kit instead (although that would have meant losing the convenient on-board flash -bounceable-as well as the RC flash compatibility.) The gain of the dual dials and the higher shutter speed is the flip-side for the E-P2. To be certain, the E-PL1 is fun to use and it thoroughly impresses me. Gotta say, the Art Filters are a surprise (2 more on E-P2 than the E-PL1, but not a significant reason to choose it over the E-PL1). Whatever your choice, I'm sure you'll continue to be an Oly fan.
Good luck and have a nice visit to the States!
