So many sour grapes... I know, let's make some whine!
Fly12345 I will grant you that guys volunteering for freight CN in HK with no housing are a different story, but I suspect most are not volunteers, rather guys who had left for Oasis and were then offered a take-it-or-leave-it by the company (kick'em when they're down). Freighter captains on a base, though, different story: makes perfect sense if you don't want to come to HKG.
Trebor: personally I haven't heard a freighter captain complain yet... actually over the last couple of years I think they have had the best rosters in the airline. As Buckaroo says, it sounds like it's you and a few whiney F/Os who didn't take the opportunity THAT YOU HAD TOO who need a little hardening...
And Messiah, once again they are making MORE money than they were previously (F-scale captain is more than B-scale F/O, at least on a base), just as you started making more money than you were in your previous job when you accepted B-scale (but no, no, that's different, of course you would never accept lower conditions than other people for doing the same job -um, er- except you plainly did.)
Matter of fact in hindsight, I sort of wish I had gone for it: between the crisis, Oasis, KA, 3-man ULH and age 65 I won't get a crack at it for years, and thanks to the company slashing FACA unilaterally I have to fly freighters anyway.
If you find yourself getting left-seat envy (it's only human), just remind yourself, as I do, that you had the same opportunity but chose a different path, one where good 'ole CX will end up buying you one or more houses... pretty good deal IMHO.
It really gets up my nose when instead of concentrating on who the real adversary is, pilots moan and complain enviously about their colleagues and their perceived advantages (B vs. A scalers, pax vs. freight, based vs. HKG, now expat vs. LEP). I hang my head in shame at the thought of management gleefully reading threads like this and realizing what a bunch of immature children we are.