Dominican, I'm guessing your comments relate to what you think you know, I'm also sure you have spoken to enough ex EK drivers to also get an appreciation that it's not all in our collective imagination.
The devil you know when you have kids in school and a wife who enjoys the trappings can be problematic to wrest yourself away from, but you knew that because you've been here and lived it?
Regardless of your opinion, or anyone else's for that matter, all of us who have been for a while are continually looking for the exit, staying is now life and relationship threatening, quite simply the brutal nature of the rosters means 10 years is about as long as most can cope with.
The Chinese option is viable for some and repugnant for others, just the same as the Japanese or Korean offers.
For me, no amount of money could compensate me for the ordeal of working in China, Japan, or Korea, I would and will take a huge pay cut to return home in due course because this place, specifically EK, cares not one iota for the individual, it is however the devil I know.