In vino veritas (in wine [there comes] truth)
Wow, such a personal question and
the answers are only up to you. Yes, there is many opinions posted and will continue to be posted. Ultimately you will need to decide three things: what do you truly want out of life that will make you happy, what you will do achieve happiness, and do you have the desire to truly make it happen.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man [woman].
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee!
For example, as suggested, does continuing to have a regular client just pay a monthly fee so you can "claim" him as a boyfriend really define what you are looking in a boyfriend? If having someone that you can see a little more frequently that will always have an expectation of sex from you as he
is paying for it define a boyfriend for you, then by all means follow that suggestion. If your definition of a boyfriend is different then you need to decide what that is and work towards having those types of relationships. I would advise against seeing a current hobbiest of yours as suggested, as the original suggestion also indicated that continual concept that the hobbiest is more invested than the provider. A common refrain we often see posts about..."dating a provider" typically the start of the title.
I tend to side with Marcus Aurelius' posts and 78704's post regarding honesty upfront to get the short-term drama out of the way and then long-term peace will follow. Very sage advice that should be considered in all aspects of life.
Yes, I think there are men out there that could handle it with the caveat that there would be a goal and strategies in place for an exit plan from the lifestyle. I can assume there is a man or two that wouldn't care if you were still doing this at 55, but think about the three things that you would have to decide that go with having a happy life and a relationship.
To answer your direct questions,
could I deal with an SO who was a provider? I could if she was truthful and upfront about what events occurred that lent itself to her current occupation; if she had a plan (strategies and milestone dates) for where she wanted to be in 1-year, 5-years, and 10-years; and she was actually working that plan to success. The foundation for any successful relationship is a commitment to communicate.
Could I deal with it if I had been lied to upfront? See previous paragraph and the discussions that would have to occur.
What do I really think of providers? First, let me state that my intent is to not lump all providers into any specific category, but as a generalization I have 3 categories. I have met some that I enjoy spending time with as they are in the business because they truly love what they do. The ones I enjoy being with are very well-balanced in their life in that they do have a life outside the business. This category of provider is usually intelligent [do not mis-interpret as being well-educated], has a wide array of interests that they pursue, and recognizes their time is important to them and as such, don't always spend all of their free time on the boards. These successful ladies are, for the most part, slightly utr part of the scene and have friendships and relationships outside the business. A connection (not a relationship) on a mental level is as important to me as the physical reason we get together.
Then there is that category of provider that I occasionally see that is simply a, to be blunt, a port in the storm. No mental connection exists or can be developed to any meaningful level so it boils down to a pure physical need. A physical attraction on my end exists and that is the extent of my needs and reasons for seeing this person.
The last category of provider is the ones that I won't see. It can be that a.) they don't do anything for me to make a physical connection, or b.) their posts tend to not stimulate enough to want to develop a mental connection. Generally speaking, these tend to be the providers that do not seem to me to have a life beyond the boards in that they don't appear to be well balanced or have any outside interests.
Ultimately, as I have stated, this is a very personal choice that only you can make. My input is just that...take it for what a few typed words on a website can mean.
I hope you the best in whatever course of actions you choose!