Gigs,
I agree with Che on this.
I've got a 95 hour month this month and to be honest, it didn't even feel it. I still had time for a social life because of how the rostering worked out. In fact, I've probably gone out for dinner/drinks/bries (legally) more this month than any other.
I think night-stops off-base are overrated. My favourite night stop is actually Bahrain. All my friends, social activities etc are here.
Bahrain is like most of the GCC countries but in a nutshell. This makes it bearable in that not too much time is spent in traffic to go anywhere.
You get what you make out of this place.
The personal interaction between office and worker at GF makes the work environment easy. You will most likely know all the names of the pilots and nearly all the flight attendants. Żou'll find that everyone at the fleet office will know you by name.
To me, I simply find GF/Bahrain with the best overall package.
But that's my opinion. Work hard, play hard.