I have not done the Cathay thing -- had to turn down interview because I was TAD and they never called back Probably too junior for DEFO but too senior for SO...I did a day-tour of the Cathay City complex(including 2 hrs of 777 sim time through the US Embassy) and it is spectacular. The HQ had a dedicated bar that shames most military O'clubs, and the training facilities are a notch above any other I have seen (American, USN). 2 of us that did the tour got the call to interview, and we both had to turn it down without a call back....

however,

HK is a pretty diverse city, and for the most part there are not racially segregated areas (unlike the middle east, say) and appears to be set up more by income than anything else. However, the western "bar" district is killer.

People are nice, city is way, way clean (hey, it's communist now so they have to find a job for everyone!, but they have their own, British based legal system), it is easy to get around (like everyplace else in Asia - spectacular public transit) and English is commonly spoken. Air quality sucks though.

It's one of the few places (3 actually) of the 30+ places I've been to overseas where I would happily move to (for a while). I think you could do three years there and not see all of HK, let alone your rest days in EVERY major city in the world that Cathay serves.

It would be quite the adventure....and when you get tired of it come back to the US as an FO. www.pprune.org (fragrant harbor forum) is a great resource for Cathay info from those that work there.

HTH
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