Question regarding ethereum network, gas fees and wallets

Perhaps this isn't the right subreddit for this question. I'm not really sure, but I've been having this problem for a while and am in search of answers. To start I should mention i know very little on crypto and the networks they run on. With that said, I'd like to know how its feesible for someone to send crypto from a wallet to another location without paying up to 80% of said crypto's value in "gas fees"? For example, I have a small stack of REQ token sitting in my metamask wallet which I would like to send to an exchange so I can make a sale. However, to send my REQ token on the etherem mainnet from metamask to said exchange I would need to spend 450 dollars to move 500 dollars worth of coin. Not to mention, to send ethereum to my wallet from an exchange like Coinbase to cover those gas fees, that would also incur a fee thus actually making the entire process of moving token from wallet to exchange actually cost more than what I would get out of a sale. I've read a little bit about this and have gathered that, because of ethereum network limitations for how many transactions can occur within a given timeframe, miners who handle these movement requests have little insentive to process requests under a certain amount. Is this really how it is right now? Are many people in a similar situation like myself or is there something im missing? Will I ever be able to actually access funds from my wallet without exorbitant fees?