Hi KMK,
replies to your questions will obviously be varied in response, as EK suits some and not others.
I do not know the deal with your current job on the A320 in the states, so cannot comment on whether to leave or not. Perhaps some guys who were in a similar situation can comment.
If you keep your head down here you will have a job for as long as it suits you.
Company housing that i have seen from visiting friends has been fine, but does seem to vary on size and quality depending on who you talk to. I was fairly fortunate to be allocated a villa that i was shown around during the interview process, and being perfectly honest is too big for my family of two adults and one young child. Its on a nice, fairly secure compound, with all the facilities one would expect, pool gym etc.
The type of flying that i bid for suits me, but i would imagine the majority would prefer not to be picked up from home at 0100 ish. 5 rotating bids groups, of which the success rate for my bids is pretty good for the top 3.
Upgrade for me, from date of joining, till final command line check took 37 months and five days. I do not know what it is at the moment, but imagine it is still pretty close to that figure on the B777. The airbus upgrades seem to be running at 46 months, assuming you do not meet the accelerated criteria. Perhaps an Airbus guy would be better placed to answer that question.
I manage to save some money each month, not as much as i would like, but still more than i did back home.
Overall, its not a bad job, no better or worse than back home, and will do for the meantime until something better comes along.
Hope that helps.