The issue that pretty much everyone joining doesn't anticipate is the way in which your priorities change as you get older. Most guys that join are happy, they see all the shiny aircraft and tall buildings and can't believe their luck in comparison to where they came from.
After a while the veneer wears off and there is a command to look forward to. In the past that was as little as 18 months, now it will be very much longer. Whilst they wait their 10 year plan starts to disappear out of the window. Conditions erode and many start to feel trapped.
The money starts to vanish too. If you are used to going out, it is crazy that you can't really afford it without an EPC card. A bottle of wine on a night out will cost you 400 dids when in Aus it might run to $25 bucks. And there are no choices to 5 star prices because they hold the licences. Expat inflation is staggering and to give you a feel for the change, Dubai went from the 90th to 67th most expensive city in the world with essentially a $1.40/hr increase in pay.
Further erosion comes in the form of allowances which never come close to following the price increases and changes to conditions that are touted as positive, medical for instance, but just result in reduced cover. All changes are negative and camouflaged with spin to "manage expectations"!
Here though is the big kicker. When most guys first join they look at the package and add it all up and are impressed. It's great for the little kids but gradually they grow and become bored to death as their teens fly by. They then move overseas to go to university and you are left with the bill. Yep I know that happens elsewhere but the reality that bites is that often families split and try to run 2 homes.
All the costs that the company covered in Dubai are dropped overseas. Often the kids are then also not entitled to the same benefits of the other students at home. With the kids gone, the parents rattle around the house and many pilots at that stage just become the cash cow sacrificing their health to try and keep the family on rails.
In my experience many of they guys that love it as they get older come from lower cost base countries or carry passports that offer few options. Many of the others start to feel trapped as their conditions spiral down and just can't imagine being 65 years old flying a dodgy 3 crew operation to the US as part of a 90 plus hour roster with factored flight hours.
So if you are new you'll enjoy it but in 10 years time as a relatively junior captain pulling down say $14k/month and paying the bills for your family back home you may find the gloss wears off and discover the true costs of being an expat are not matched by the ever diminishing EK salary.