I used to fly in Africa a lot with a US carrier... guess which one. I loved flying there though it's definitely super challenging. It's also a very diverse continent and it's not all huts and under developed communities like portrayed in the media. Many cities are starting to resemble the US or Europe and are highly functioning in every aspect, others are still like Mad-Max Beyond Thunder-dome. I'm not the most experienced guy on here but I'd recommend 1. Going to Legacy that flies there like UA or Delta and experience it that way. 2. Going the DoD route and flying there as a contractor working 60 ON/60 OFF. 3. If you just want to live in Africa? Go to Atlas you can live anywhere in the world. 4. Flying for EK or Etihad out of DXB. In that order. Same goes with Southeast Asia as a I've known quite a few guys living/working there, better to work for a US carrier like Atlas for the stability.
I also know a fair number of Americans that worked for a local carrier in XYZ country. The mainline widebody pay and QOL there doesn't even beat regionals, there's no pilot shortage outside the US. I also know a guy that flew corporate there for a long time and made good money, he was also local to the country he flew in and it sounds like he worked out a good deal but he still bailed and came to the US eventually. I'd say he's probably the exception rather than the rule. For the record, the worst/most dangerous experiences there I've heard have been in Nigeria. I've also had some experiences there as well, I don't think I'd ever want to live or work there unless it was on a US mil installation.