I was in the same boat as you were, but I never went to a regional, passed on it once I saw the pay was $20/hr, couldn't grasp the fact that I was making more money as a CFI.

I have been flying in Europe for close to 4 years now, from a 4 engine to now a 2 engine Airbus, great experience with a demanding flight ops. I have never heard of anyone having trouble returning to the US after a certain amount of years. Seeing that a lot of Ex-Pat Emirates pilots have been returning to the US for jobs maybe someone from there can give us some input.

Your best bet in a job is definitely India and especially the FAR EAST which has a shortage. (Some companies paying contracts up to 18,000USD a month) I would start looking at some contracts that might interest you. Try Parc Aviation which has a lot of contacts and definitely good contracts for it's pilots.