kinesis is a commitment, imo and costly, some can adjust just fine (like me) others cannot. I've found 3 used kinesis for 50 or so on ebay, basically ebay diving, 1 i currently use, 1 i'm modding and 1 just sitting around just in case. Of course as with any used items, your results will vary, but then new ones are 270. However imo there really aren't any off the shelf alternatives for split keyboard really so i wouldn't even be able to recommend an alternative out of just recommending something.
You should find a big store, even best buy has the razer black widow, and they have a cut away on the box so you can try out the keys, as far as places with keyboards just out there, idk.