[QUOTE=Pessimist;2498983]That is fine, and sorry I didn't mean to have a harsh tone. I thought Phallus' post was unnecessarily combative but I thought you were a bit like me: looking for some pay and play opportunities. You did mention you are open to mongering options in the US. One of the reasons I prefer SA is because you can control the dialog end to end and abort anytime if things don't smell right.
Whether you want to be on SA or not is your choice obviously but perhaps you might want to read up on the ISG thread. Even your comment above ("The whole idea of dating before sex is a huge turn off for me. I am not a good negotiator, either. What would I tell her? Zimmer? Or baby, let's take you to the nearest men's restroom and bang you there standing facing the wall in the stall? Not sure it would impress her that much") has a lot of misconceptions in my view. I have written lengthy notes about how things work on SA in the dedicated thread, others have too, and it is not productive to repeat any of that. A simple reading will suffice and if you have any more questions, we can discuss then. But in my view, SA feels a lot more secure than escort sites, although M88 might not agree. Perhaps it is a question of personal preference.[/QUOTE]I think SA is the wave of the future. I have about seven escorts I currently see in a rotation in the USA, and they refer me to their friends, but eventually I will explore SA.
None of the USA Escorts I see are fat, foul-mouthed, or ridiculously tatted, so perhaps I am more fortunate than Phallus.
I did a response to Smoke Light regarding the USA Scene, but it got eaten by an ISG service break and I don't want to retype it all.
But in summary, I noted that the USA Has its own unique scene. The two safest avenues are SA, and choosing an escort who has reviews on one of the three escort review boards in the USA, and giving her the screening information she needs. Preferably she has multiple reviews from experienced reviewers. It keeps the police entirely out of the picture.
USA Arrests, while numerous, occur with respect to the street scene, massage parlors, and most notably from answering fake ads taken out by the police. These fake ads are always on large classified ads where the (supposed) lady has no reviews and no screening is involved.
American guys aren't very good at adapting. The USA Has been at war with anything organized when it comes to prostitution for a long time. So the scene has become one in which it is only safe if you are dealing one-on-one with the sex worker. That isn't difficult to do, and is unlikely to ever be attacked by the police, but a lot of guys won't adapt and manage to get themselves arrested. But those arrests can't be extrapolated to the general population of commercial sex transactions. They are unique to their own set of circumstances. A guy answering a fake sting ad on a Backpage type website has nothing to do with a guy meeting an SA lady over lunch / dinner or a guy booking an escort who has reviews, her own website, a twitter feed, and a screening mechanism.
I like the non-USA Scene, too. I have had plenty of experiences / adventures that could never be replicated in the USA, and certainly not at the same price. But as I have said before, I don't find the need to insult one scene, especially in my home country, when discussing another scene. And most of the criticisms not only aren't valid, but those doing the criticizing do not even participate in the scene they are criticizing. There are plenty of actual reviews on ISG of SA and none of them describe the ladies they meet as having come over as a result of the Backpage closure.
Most people value different experiences and can adapt. Germany has a unique system of FKKs. Great. Enjoy it if in Germany. When elsewhere, learn the alternatives from people who actually utilize the alternatives and pick what best suits your interests. In the USA, the predominant thinking is that the environment generating the best experiences is SA and independent escorts (or escorts who work at one if the few remaining agencies in safe areas) who have reviews, a website / twitter presence, and who screen. No practical risk of arrest or exposure, and you know what you are getting. And yes, it is expensive. I respect people who don't go that route for analytical reasons, but I see no reason to put it down, especially if that person doesn't even try it.