jb747 and other pilots, like any job where you have a choice of employers, it may be the little things that count - such as the ability (say) with QF to live in either SYD or MEL if you are A380 qualified, rather than hot DXB or steamy and warm to hot SIN. It might also be a longstanding commitment of an employee to live in Oz, or the relative attractiveness of the salary, the benefits, the allowances, the promotional opportunities, the way you socialise with others in and around the workplace, the history of the employer's entity including its safety culture and the overall company and general societal culture as well.
Those of us who do not work in the airline industry perceive that commercial aviation pilots may have some time each month or perhaps each quarter to (if they choose) undertake some travelling to new destinations worldwide (in between the demands of family, spouses, volunteering, attending church, hobby and sporting events, looking after the house and so on). Perhaps that's a misconception.
On average, I work for 18 days in every 28, so that's not a great deal more time off than the average office worker. The time does tend to come in groups of days, rather than weekends, but you can always write off a part of it as you're in the wrong time zone. Just think of having perpetual bad jet lag, and you'll get the idea.
Most trips don't throw up a great deal of time to be a tourist. A long London trip really only gives one clear day to look around, and even then the time zone issue tends to restrict what you want to do (though I suspect the young blokes have more stamina than me). It's currently 1 pm in London, and I've just circumnavigated Hyde Park...but my bed time is in an hour or two...I rarely make it to dinner time.
That said, is the relative lack of variety in flying destinations for particular pilots (e.g. QF A380 only DXB, HKG, LAX and LHR, plus of course SYD and MEL) at least a slight disincentive to work for a carrier like QF (or VA in respect of its international flying, albeit not with A380s) 'at the end of the line' in terms of Australia's geography compared with say SQ whose A380 pilots fly to about eight destinations apart from SIN, and EK pilots to an expanding number as well?
Whilst a small network can be a bit boring, the converse is also true. Go to too many places, and you never become any good at the local procedures. Even with our relatively small network, it actually breaks down even further. I rarely go to LAX, perhaps once or twice a year. HKG is my annual route check, and the occasional delivery flight and that's about it. So, my personal network is really Sydney (which I try to avoid, but not successfully), Melbourne, Dubai and London.
That's only a small part of the airline though, and also only a short period of one's career. The other types go to many other places, and all pilots have to work their way through fleets, and their route structures, as their career progresses. So, I don't go to many places now, but I went to more on the 747, and many more on the 767. A bit like my hair really...there's less of it each year.
Or is it irrelevant because of the time off available to pilots (and the need to not be travelling every day - to have one's feet on the ground to rest for a few days)?
We all differ. Some of the guys are tourists, and spend their holidays overseas. I can't think of much worse, and like to drive on my holidays. When I retire, the closest I expect to get to a big jet will be watching one contrailing overhead.
Of course, some employers such as SQ may not have a practice of employing Caucasian Australians on the flight deck, while others such as CX and EK may, but for the purposes of the discussion I'm assuming for the moment that all have occasional vacancies and are open to individuals of any nationality with the experience and type rating for aircraft X.
Singair used to hire a lot of expats, but recently stopped doing so, and cancelled most of the remaining contracts. Cathay and Emirates (as well as most of the middle eastern airlines) have a large cross section of the worlds accents coming from their coughpits.
Whilst living in Oz is a great positive, it has a pretty horrendous tax rate compared to most alternatives. For an FO, or a junior Captain, moving away can be very attractive. There are ex QF guys already flying the 787 overseas. Promotional prospects are one of the biggest attractions, and these (ME) airlines are at the top of the list for that.