Bortle scale irl

Hello there. I recently in this hobby and wonder how serious would be difference between bortle 5-4-3. I live in big city with bortle 9 basically so each next step requires additional time. Bortle 5 is literally in 15 minutes in car, bortle 4 is relatively easy achievable according to light pollution map and I even was in these places already with my scope - it's night and day compared to the city sky, but would bortle 3 be much better cause it requires much longer run. Want some of your real life experience. Thanks in advance for answers.