RE: simulator vs. real life?
Surly who can fly a low wing can fly a trainer, but not everybody who can fly a trainer can fly a low wing.....
I fly my trainer sometimes although I have several low wing airplanes just to practice new maneuvers..
There are many situations that the simulator doesn’t prepare you for but are very much part of the real world like cross winds landings...
I second what is written above, the simulator is not replacement for a trainer.