Veruka
Good one, look forward to it.
Actually, while you are at it, perhaps you could shed some light on why three Cathay FOs, (having supposedly attained the 'Holy Grail' of airline jobs), not being too far away from command, would choose to forego their career here and throw it all in to buy a charter outfit in WA?
Perhaps their roster would be better running their own operation? Maybe they'd have a better chance of getting leave when they wanted it? Surely it can't be the pay...? Or perhaps the families preferred the lifestyle back in Oz? Regular trips to unspoiled beaches? Fish that you can catch yourself and actually eat? Homegrown beer? Dune-buggying in the endless sand dunes? Friends and family? Perhaps the cost/benefit analysis didn't stack up for having to put up with the environment here? Perhaps, like other expats that have since left Hong Kong, childrens ailments, (ailments that evaporated in the cleaner air and better living conditions of a more pristine environment), became too much of a worry here and any amount of money wouldn't keep them? Perhaps a combination of some or all of these factors?
One would think that, all things being equal, if Cathay was such a crash-hot job, guys like this wouldn't be pulling up sticks and heading back home. Never used to happen in the past, but it does appear to be happening more regularly these days.
I will concede that it is not all doom and gloom here and that the lifestyle can be exciting and fulfilling, but how do you put a dollar value on you and your family having to deal with the pollution, the obvious downsides, (family, friends, sports, hobbies), to living an expat existence in a strange land? It seems that some of those who are trying to do so are finding that the equation leans toward heading home.