Some more thoughts
My wife and I made the decision last year to give EK/Dubai a go. So yes I'm only relatively new.
The one thing we have noticed: if you were capable of saving money and sticking to a budget back in your home country, you will be able to save here. However if you aren't that sort of person, you will find plenty of things to take your money in Dubai. After all salary=expenses for some people....
We have 4 children, 2 in school so far. We chose a school that matches the education allowance. We're in company accommodation. As mentioned the company accomodation is fine. We spend more on food than we did back home but 5000 dirhams a month is more than enough for groceries and fuel costs. We put aside a reasonable amount for travel , money for the missus and some bills. After all that we manage to save about 11000 dirhams a month.
We came over with a couple of goals in mind. One of these is money, the other is having a new experience. However if we get to the end of the bond and my wife isn't happy, we'll go home. I didn't have the option to join a legacy carrier, only a LCC back in Aus.
EK isn't for everyone. Dubai is not for everyone. If you have the option of a legacy/major back in your home country, I would take that. But for the rest of us, there are plenty of jobs that are worse than EK. If you think you can achieve something for your career/life by coming here, go for it.