I found the first months in the bowl SO frustrating. I was spoiled by several local gorgeous escorts, who are hot, reliable, stunning, and...expensive. I love those pros, but in my local market, the list was short, and, for long dates, very expensive.
The bowl is totally different, and if you don't change your expectations and approach, you'll never like it. Pros are, well, professional! SBs are not, totally NOT. If you don't, to some extent, love the thrill of the hunt, this is probably not for you. The pain of flakiness and wasted time is occasionally offset by the joy of an unexpectedly wonderful SB. And the good ones are pretty great.
SA is just WAY more time intensive than TER and other referral sites for pros. When all the costs are added in (dinners, allowance, hotel rooms, gifts, etc) I don't think SA is much cheaper than escorts, BUT, the talent pool is enormous, the variety is amazing, and the "reality TV" aspect of being with new SB is totally different than the fantasy world of escorts. Neither one is intrinsically better; they are just very different experiences.
So, SA may or may not be for you, but you haven't put in nearly enough time or effort to decide yet, unless the "time" is already too frustrating, and then you have your answer.