I think where one of the real issues lie, is hugely based upon what fleet your on. If your on the 330/340 fleet, you not only have to contend with all the issues of living in the middle east (which, as stated above, there are many that cannot be truly be understood unless you actually live here), but also for this fleet, dealing with all the $hit runs to war zones, night turns, crap layovers, reserve every 5 months-which also affect vacation bidding, more duty time than flight pay time, fatigue, and etc. erodes the purpose of ever coming here. Another huge point is...what country are you actually coming from? Both of my EK neighbors come from countries where there is serious physical safety concerns in their home country. So yes, for that reason (and the fact that they are both on the 777 makes them (and their wives) relatively happy to be in Dubai.
So IMHO, ESP AS A SINGLE PERSON, coming to EK on the triple 777 or 380 fleet, OR coming from a country where safety is an issue, OR where there are no decent paying jobs available …I'm thinking that life could be rather enjoyable and lucrative. Yes, there are definite downfalls about Dubai…but it's all relative.
Now on a personal note….YES, without a DOUBT my family would rather be in my home country, BUT this job pays the bills, my children are getting a good education, and overall it's what you make of it….and all of this is said WITH being on the crap 330 fleet.
