As Hats On has said, it depends what lifestyle you want and how long you are willling to spend to get to it. Most people in Low Cost operators see themselves better off in the Legacy airlines such as BA and Virgin. That used to be the case but sadly it's not anymore. Pay and conditions are not that different and where a bidding system exists you will always find yourself worse off in the larger companies for many years to come.
Having worked both long haul and short haul I can assure you that both get to you in the end. Short haul leaves you feeling like you've dug the garden on a daily basis whilst long haul simulates military style sleep depravation. Both culminate in the same level of long term fatigue that sees you hit a tree on the way home. The only difference is that with long haul you go fly twice a week whilst short haul you fly twice a day (or more).
You state that you want a command. In that case stay where you are. You agree that your age is higher than the standard demographic so in the larger airlines you'll be unlikely to see the left seat in less than ten years, probably more. However, once you move seats it becomes nearly impossible to justify moving to another airline. Direct entry or start up opportunities are rare so you would have to have a strong reason to start over again with another operator.