The grass on the other side is not greener...

It is a sad situation as the byproduct of this economic downturn. It seems you are a career-driven person like most of wall streeters and not ready to settle down.

It is actually a good time for you to think throughly and calmly what you really want at this age. One of my friends, a wallstreet superstar, who lost 40 millions last month for his firm, volunteerily took a month off. Now he is sailing on the carribean sea to refresh himself.

At age of 35, your biological clock is ticking. It is critical time to decide if you want a family or you have got used to a professional job. "my last yr’s pay was $300K..." - whew! with this kind of earning power, you should have enough saving in the nest to weather this storm. With this kind of earning power, you should not have problem landing another job when the market is back, which will be.

Enjoy your free time now. You really think the financial industry in China is better? Think again! For a professional who has been trained here, you will find a very hard time to learn and adapt those "modern Chinese" ways.

The bottom line is - what is more important to you ? No one can answer it for you but yourself. You should be mature enough to tell. You might not have had time to think of it when you were struggling on the job. It is a good time to do it now.

Good Luck!