aquila,
Having in the past been a simulator instructor on the S76 I used the sims at both FS in West Palm Beach and CAE when it was in Dallas and I found FS to be much better organised. I've never worked for either company so I can't comment on pay. I was going to go to Sesto for a 139 conversion, but ours has been delayed and now I'm supposed to be doing it in Morristown, NJ sometime next year.
I guess Italy would be a nicer place to live, up near Lake Maggiore, but I'd imagine they'd be a bit disorganised. Don't think Porsche, think Fiat! But then again if you go to Farnborough or West Palm Beach, don't think Mustang, think Mack! I have a friend who now works in Asia and he tells me that he was put off CAE by the attitude of their HR department in UK. As flungdung says, FS seem to be recruiting at the moment as they're setting up an S92 sim facility in Farnborough in UK, so if you meet their qualification requirements, now would be a good time to apply