The tradeoff depends on your social class. The Westerners who have the resources to move to SEAsia/China etc. or the upper-class people from those countries who return there will find themselves freer there because they by definition have the resources to take advantage of the situation. If you are a middle-class or lower-class local citizen, the stability and boredom of the EU sounds much more appealing. Instead of personal freedom, there is the crushing weight of the system around them. They have street food but have to work 996 in polluted conditions.