I had 2 inch insole lifts prior to LL and it started around high school. That put me around 5'7"-5'8". The difference was real, but I was still somewhat short. But I wasn't short enough that people were making fun of me. I had friends who were 5'4"-5'5" who were made fun of for being short. I was dangerously close to that height at 5'5"-5'6". But the shoe lifts took me out of that zone and into a more acceptable height. So a lot of the discrimination was gone after the shoe lifts. But I still wasn't tall enough to really be with the best looking girls. Those girls were usually dating 5'9"+ guys.
With 3.1" of LL, I'm near 5'9", which is still below average. The feeling is much better than wearing lifts if you don't consider the super weak legs, and constant aching and soreness, and inability to run fast. But the shame of wearing lifts is gone. It's great to be able to say that I really am 5'9" now, and I don't have to worry about taking off my shoes in front of anyone. I can wear shorts without worrying about exposing my short legs. I can go to the beach now without my friends realizing that I'm actually really short. It's a great feeling.
If your goal is to feel better about yourself, then there isn't much difference between lifts and LL. You'll feel better when you're taller no matter what the means are. But if the goal is to date someone taller than you, then it will not work. Once you get to the house/bedroom and take off those shoes, your gig is up and the girl will most likely leave you immediately. With LL, you don't have to worry about that.
The biggest difference is that with LL, you can add lifts and get even taller than ever before. With the right shoes and a small lift, which is barely noticeable even if I take off my shoes, I'm around 5'10"-5'11". This is really the height where I'm feeling great about my height. From 5'8"-5'9", I felt that it was acceptable, but not like "great". But at 5'10"-5'11", I actually felt tall. It's at this height where I noticed that girls were really taking an interest in me. Some girls were even taller than my original height. So without LL, the number and possibly quality of girls I attracted would have been less. While I still hold the belief that this surgery is not worth getting just to get girls, I must admit that it is quite a great feeling when girls are attracted to me for the way that I look rather than how much money I had or how funny I was. I just never had that kind of reaction from girls as I growing up, and I can see in real life the drastic difference between the way someone treated me at 5'5"-5'6" to 5'10"-5'11". It's quite stupid how height changes people's feelings towards you. But I guess that's just how the world works.