Overseas Contract Flying  

The "advantages" to working overseaa are all finanical.  The IRS's Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and Foreign Housing Allowance dropped my AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) dramatically.  Of course, you have to "live" overseas for those to be helpful.  That requires you to be out of the country for like 330 or 340 days of the year (IRS Physical Presence Test), OR have a "Foreign Residence Visa" for the country you're working in.  That will allow you to come and go from the USA as you please, without having to worry about the PPT thing.  Also, the way some employers structure their contracts helps with your tax burden too. 

I would venture to bet that I paid significantly less income tax than you, while earning more $$. 

Finally, there are a few X-Pat Income Tax services that know all of the ins and outs of how to file your USA income tax returns.  I used Greenback Tax Service the entire time I worked and lived overseas, and found them to be worth every penny.

THe last thing I'll mention is more of a personal b!tch than anything else.  The USA is one of a very small minority of countries that tax the income of their citizens which is made outside of the borders of your home country.  I worked with a number of Brits and other nationalities over the years that didn't get taxed on their income.