Similar path to Gnadenburg, except I was with the parent airline. I really enjoyed my Middle Eastern trips, but was always happy to get back to HK, where I wasn’t treated like a second class citizen. Now flying in the states at a major.
HK is still the best place I’ve lived, & I miss it every day. The other thing about acquiring HK property was it was with the company’s money (mostly) via the housing allowance (R.I.P). Over 9k USD/mth. Selling at a gain was a bonus if your timing was good.
To the O.P, I’d take EK over CX now.