Now there's an interesting question, eh?
I see from your profile that you were at EGNM and now NZRO - does that mean you have gone from Leeds to New Zealand??
I believe that if you go for "quality of life" first then "standard of living" will follow - it just doesn't work the other way round!
Due to a family bereavement I went from airline flying back to flying instruction (contract work for the military). The job was not as well remunerated as airline flying but boy the working hours didn't half make up for the money! Also there is nothing like sleeping in your own bed every night with no messing around with the body clock to consider!
As regards a safe location to work in well you have to ask yourself the question where is safe? Perhaps some locations are safer than others.
With everything in life you have to "Know Your Outcome" before you start and as has already been stated some pilots recently have had little choice when it comes to employment etc. Perhaps you have to fundamentally ask yourself the question as to what the purpose of employment/business is - suggest you read some of Charles Handy's books for some interesting perspectives on this sort of topic.
Finally, keep seeking the truth on this - but the answer is not "out there" but within you!