I wish no offence but very few of you here "get it". Capt Dart seems to.
They force us into being mercenaries so be a mercenary. This may mean reshaping the plans you had conceived years back. What does CX offer you today and into the future? NOTHING but perpetual attacks on your conditions of service until they bring you down to the sewer of C-Scale. Your housing is already being threatened and you've only a stay of execution already. The ME3 is not a dream by any stretch but if you don't do your due diligence a la the average new joiner to CX then all the more fool you. The ME offers a Command within ⅓ to ¼ of the time of CX, maybe less.
(Friends who have come and gone from HKA/E tell me it's a nepotistic nightmare & standards disgrace: what would you expect when they take CX Cat D pilots, fast track them to Command and then become Training Managers!? Their 787 fleet is being headed by a Malaysian guy who is doing nothing but recruiting buddies who share the same passport so nothing changes at HKA/E. It just stays ignorantly the same it seems, so don't use them as a yard stick.)
From a guy who's been around the traps, get out of CX if you have experience and a CV that has a backbone: less & less common nowadays I'll admit. If you have a CX Command on B-Scale then stay until the writing is on the wall by way of housing and other well deserved benefits of your employment. For others, use the ME to get a (wide body) Command and put up with the local ways, deceitful management, the heat and rest of the BS. Enjoy the brunches! 3-5 years is a long time in this job so anything could change. With a tax free (depending on own nationality laws of course) USD $25k per month being more the benchmark than the exception for widebody Command contracts, with European, Nth American & Aussie bases, commuting contracts the norm, etc then it's not a bad situation to be in after perhaps 5 years. Of course it's not for everyone....
The ME3 exists on pure arrogance and false economies. They will not go under due these facts. They may morph slightly but their hatred of each other, arrogance and pride will not see them fail. They'll always be artificially propped up which serves your short term goals, unlike anything in HK right now. Few at EK, EY or QR truly are "happy" but who in this career are anymore? It's better the devil you can accept to get what you want out of the situation. They still offer a housing allowance that can pay off a mortgage and education allowance that will cover most of a kid's education.
Use them as they use us. Get what you can while never undermining your colleagues or industry.