I don't think anyone here envies the life of the regional pilot in the US, undoubtedly the hours are long and the pay is dreadful, and if i had had to have taken that path to a pilot's job I may well have not bothered. However, getting into the whole "my career is more crap than yours" isn't really that constructive an argument.
What all the guys that are currently here in the Sandpit are trying to do is tell you the pure unvarnished truth, the sort of thing you won't get when you come here for interview, so when you arrive you do so with your eyes wide open because if you come thinking it's going to champagne and roses it will be a very rude shock.
If you read the negative stuff on this thread, and no it's not just belly-aching there's not much I've read here on this thread that isn't the truth (scout's honour), and you still feel your life will be better for you in DXB, then do please come, we will welcome you without reservation, the people I fly with are one of the redeeming features of life at FZ.
Living life well and modestly in DXB is harder than I thought and a recent report in the press here said 70% of ex-pat workers find it difficult or impossible to send money home. I've been here 3yrs and only in the last few months have I been able to save anything.
A modest 3 bed townhouse villa in an expat community will cost you about $40,000 to rent per year. Food costs are 20-30% more than I was paying back home. I know the package looks like king's ransom compared to the regionals, but you will burn through it at an alarming rate. Most people need about $10-15000 just to set themselves up over here, paying deposits, buying cars, furniture, paying the UAE government for an almost endless number of pieces of paper.
Best of luck
F-C