By joining EK as an FO, my take-home pay now as a skipper would be divided by almost 50%. However, when making a decision I only take into account disposable income. So I compare the money I have to spend in DXB and here in Europe after paying my mortgage, council tax, utilities and schools. Also, if I want to send my kids to good schools here in Europe they would take a very big chunk out of my income. HOWEVER, if I cannot even get my kids into an affordable school the first year in DXB because most are all full, I would be very frustrated to begin with. Add on that being denied boarding a flight with family on SBY tickets because there is no space in Y class, with still empty seats in business, that would really not make my day. Don't care too much about flying a shiny wide body, the ones I fly now are shiny anyway, but getting tired of doing the same 12 - 15 (ultra) short routes all year long from my base. Spend about 10% of my block hours in cruise, the rest in stepped descents, climbs, taxiing and stressful turnarounds.
So just to clarify......if I turn up with kids on non-firm tickets say going on holiday to Mauritius, do they turn me away even if there are seats in business? That's certainly not the way other airlines work. Very few would leave behind staff (even other airline staff) with still unfilled seats in the A/C.
Some may say I am overthinking this too much, but it is better to know the the facts before joining so there are less nasty surprises.