You sound as though you are passing your opinion rather than asking for ours.
Living in Hong Kong was a choice, so I believe I am sacrificing nothing. It just provides different things.
'Pottering around in the garden' never appealled to me, but skiing at Whistler and attending the Monaco GP does. Living here gives me that.
Absorbing the world and its varied cultures in my 'prime years' is better than waiting for retirement to do it. Which by the way will be 45yo, and extremely well off, not reasonably.
Each to their own of course, but no sacrifice for me. <img src="cool.gif" border="0">