State of the game

It's all about perspective; where do you feel you should be compared to others that play the game.

Some points are:

1. Yes, it does take a long time to get places in this game and without spending, you'll never catch up to those whose accounts are well ahead of you.
2.  This game actually isn't F2P unfriendly.  You can spend absolutely nothing on this game, get places and be competitive.
3.  Spending can cost an awful lot to see progress.  Even then, the game is still a grind. 
4.  Guilds are putting more and more pressure on players to get certain things.  This could make you reliant on spending.

I guess 'progress' is subjective.  It depends on what you consider progress.  Is it collecting everything at the highest level?  Is it progressing in GAC?   Is it seeing actual improvements in PvE scores?

You can and will see 'progress', but it's not a quick thing and you'll need to spend smartly.   I spend very little, and I have seen some streamers that spend a budget of $100 - $200 a month that were quite a bit behind me in GAC and account size, and who are now significantly ahead of me.  So, spending and spending wisely does make a difference.