He goes back home and is homeless. sleeping on friends couches. has no job and his year in china did nothing to help him get a job. he went on some kind of social welfare plus odd jobs (painting fences, cleaning toilets etc).....

I'd say thats not too bad, BUT I have a degree in English Literature (major) and Film Studies (minor). Without doing a MA and a PGCE, I can only work at a pizza place or something crap like that.

Now would I go back and work for minimum wage and be semi-homeless in the UK all the while studying for an (expensive) Masters Degree or PGCE, which I can ill afford in terms of money or time, or stay in HK/Taiwan where I can get 40-50 UK pounds per hour for tutoring an adult without taxes. As I am single, I will choose the latter.........