SouthOfTheBorder

for many gay men of a certain age - we were never supposed to live long enough to worry about “looking like an old queer”
aging is a blessing, not a curse 
perspective 

check the reviews for patterns.
frequently, there are many reviews by same person. also, look at when the reviewer became a member - lots of reviews by people who signed up same month.  Or, if several reviews happen in a short period of time.
there are definitely some guys gaming the system.  not possible w hundreds of reviews tho

most New Yorkers are not 100% tone-deaf & completely lacking self-awareness 
Im sure you’re charming at cocktail parties - doubtful that ever happens tho

much better that way - a full block/ignore makes them invisible  
there are lots of guys here full of self-hatred and working out their issues….or not.  the tone is telling.
and then there are those living vicariously through others who never post anything about their own actual experiences - yet, live to pick apart details posted by others. typically, they populate this forum & similar forums 24/7.  
of course, the Karens are here too - feverishly working to control the narrative w frequent reports to the mods to censor & cancel people they don’t like. easily identified by their passive/aggressive tendencies and “ownership” of the space
it takes a village 

most New Yorkers are not 100% tone-deaf & completely lacking self-awareness 
Im sure you’re charming at cocktail parties - doubtful that ever happens tho

Block him. You life will be improved. I don't believe a word he's saying. I think he's a sad, closeted guy who takes his anger out on people. 

most New Yorkers are not 100% tone-deaf & completely lacking self-awareness 
Im sure you’re charming at cocktail parties - doubtful that ever happens tho

Yea…Florida just isn’t the place to be anymore. Summers have gotten way too hot and winters are seeing increasing amounts of rain and cloudy weather. South Florida used to be reliably lovely from November through April. No longer the case. 
 
I still go to South Florida for Johnson’s…but I really don’t like spending my gay dollars in a state that doesn’t respect or value me. I wish there were more options elsewhere. 
 
weather and politics aside, I don’t know how an average Joe can even afford to live in South Florida now.    Who’s going to wait on and provide services to all the people with multi million dollar homes if an average person can no longer afford to live there?   Inflation has been running higher in Florida than any other state for a while now. 
 
I’m glad I lived in Florida when I did (the 1990’s) and got to experience the lovely winters. I would hate to be stuck there now given the plethora of horrors going on now. 

much better that way - a full block/ignore makes them invisible  
there are lots of guys here full of self-hatred and working out their issues….or not.  the tone is telling.
and then there are those living vicariously through others who never post anything about their own actual experiences - yet, live to pick apart details posted by others. typically, they populate this forum & similar forums 24/7.  
of course, the Karens are here too - feverishly working to control the narrative w frequent reports to the mods to censor & cancel people they don’t like. easily identified by their passive/aggressive tendencies and “ownership” of the space
it takes a village 

check the reviews for patterns.
frequently, there are many reviews by same person. also, look at when the reviewer became a member - lots of reviews by people who signed up same month.  Or, if several reviews happen in a short period of time.
there are definitely some guys gaming the system.  not possible w hundreds of reviews tho

this is accurate.  those tropes indicate a certain self-loathing & their own struggles w getting older and/or hiring providers.  

much better that way - a full block/ignore makes them invisible  
there are lots of guys here full of self-hatred and working out their issues….or not.  the tone is telling.
and then there are those living vicariously through others who never post anything about their own actual experiences - yet, live to pick apart details posted by others. typically, they populate this forum & similar forums 24/7.  
of course, the Karens are here too - feverishly working to control the narrative w frequent reports to the mods to censor & cancel people they don’t like. easily identified by their passive/aggressive tendencies and “ownership” of the space
it takes a village 

the point was “rich” people can get away w things in countries where it’s illegal - not just prostitution, but homosexuality in general.  then there was an Epstein reference 
yeah, billionaires can basically do whatever they want.  average punters in a 4-star hotel, maybe if they’re lucky & nothing goes wrong.  they can also be setup for extortion & worse - because any bargaining power is lost when you run into trouble.
i get people on these forums are fantasizing about things they’ll never do. and some like the danger/risk of the fantasy.  and then there are isolated  & dated anecdotes creating false impressions about work arounds. Morocco as one example has changed dramatically in the last few years - how it is now is not as you have portrayed it.
its a typical American tourist mentality to think money will get you want you want in any situation & when trouble arises it will get you out. also - that somehow the local laws will not be applied to Americans….its cultural arrogance & entitlement, exactly the thing the bad guys prey upon. while money may get you out in the end - the actual experience may be very different & very unpleasant.
hiring providers always carry’s some risk - looking for it in countries where both prostitution & homosexuality is illegal is not wise.  and, contrary to the magical thinking - everyone knows exactly what you’re doing.  Older single white dude with a much younger local - not exactly a secret. 

 
 

this is accurate.  those tropes indicate a certain self-loathing & their own struggles w getting older and/or hiring providers.  

I’m really happy to be early 60s.  
I think men of our generation got to experience so much.  It was fun when gay bars/clubs used to be more subversive & underground.  We appreciate the freedoms we have now because we know what it was like before. We appreciate our good health because we saw so many whose lives were cut short by AIDs/HIV epidemic.  
And most of all - we knew how to socialize in real life without the constant distractions of phones & toxic social media.  It was a time when having a friend really meant something - not the hundreds of “friends” people have on FB.
When I find myself in environments with much younger people, I often wonder if I’d like to be 30ish again - the answer is NO. 

It doesn't help that certain clients constantly insinuate that everyone who hires except them is ancient, obese and disfigured. 

Those guys haven’t quite got the idea of what the job is. Definitely right to move on. 
Sometimes I get clients sending me a description of themselves and they ask if they’re suitable to book. They might even include a photo. They have this perception that they need to be ‘fit’ to come for a session. I tell them they only need to be healthy, as in no health conditions that might be a problem, but that their physical appearance is immaterial.
This belief that you need to be conventionally fit arises because so many bad sex workers have criteria or age caps on who they will see. I don’t think those guys are worth booking. Your session will be all about them. 
 

the OP description of escort is actually a very small subset of professional providers.  The vast majority are far more average types no matter the place.
the subsequent preferred description of a “bit more real, masculine……” is more like the typical providers in Brazil & Thailand, where they have a fairly well developed market for this exact thing. There are hundreds of guys that fit that description. 
idk - maybe the attraction for Africa is going somewhere where it’s more difficult/risky/dangerous ?  If the purpose is to meet men, that just doesn’t seem worthwhile to travel all that way & then perhaps a letdown when it doesn’t work out for whatever reason.
 

staying in a 4-star hotel hardly qualifies anyone as rich.  equating a billionaire like Epstein to a middle class Western tourist who thinks they’re relatively rich in a poor African country doesn’t make sense.  Thats exactly the mindset that gets people in serious trouble abroad - thinking the local laws or customs don’t apply. 

the second delusion is typically the tourist thinks nobody knows what they’re doing, when it’s obvious to all and the locals have seen it dozens of times before
fyi - the seriously rich aren’t going to Africa for sex-tourism 

agree - the problem is most people aren't honest w themselves.  
a real conversation w a potential partner is definitely helpful in context of making decisions.  
working with known & established people also helpful.  
trust is something that's earned - not automatic.  and I don't think that is cynical at all.

for every one person that is responsible & contacts their partners for potential STI exposure - there’s probably 10 more that don’t.  It’s statistically impossible for people to be routinely engaging in unprotected sex w multiple partners and not be exposed to STIs.  Indeed, the numbers show gonorrhea surging. Many don’t know they have anything & are asymptomatic- but still very capable of transmission.  
testing, while absolutely worthwhile gives a false sense of security as it’s outdated the minute the test is done. 
theres a certain level of collective denial going on among gay men, disguised as “sex-positivity” & selective information uptake to justify doing what they want to do anyway.  
get educated, make your choices & live with the consequences.  it’s that simple  

perspective - to afford an $8M house, you have to be worth $30M in reality, an "ultra high net-worth" individual. And typically, these people own several homes. 
there are 129,750 people worth $30M in the US.  Or, .00039% of the population - way beyond the 1%.
I get Florida as a tax-haven if you really don't want to live there.  As an investment- those days are over.  
i sold last year at a very good time for sellers.  Between rising carrying costs, increase in equity & the general decline of quality of life - it was a very easy decision.   Basically, take the money & run.  The new buyer of my place will have $50,000 in HOA & property taxes in year 1, after a cash purchase - and it wasnt anything considered high-end.  the buyer just wrote a blank check for spiraling fees & taxes
owning real estate in Florida in Florida is like owning a boat - there are 2 good days, the day you buy it & the day you sell it.

Or the providers "assume that all of their partners" are on Prep and/or Doxy prep; thus neither has to give a lot of thought as to fucking bareback or not.

agree - the problem is most people aren't honest w themselves.  
a real conversation w a potential partner is definitely helpful in context of making decisions.  
working with known & established people also helpful.  
trust is something that's earned - not automatic.  and I don't think that is cynical at all.

you have a exponentially higher probability of getting shot in any American shopping mall (or road rage, or an elementary school, or a church/synagogue)  vs terrorism at LGBTQIA+ event in the US.  
might be more consequential in other countries