Oh geez yes cleaners in oil factories may very well be making salaries way way higher than you'd make in China as a FT. Most of our cleaners took home a solid 3000 a month (after taxes) with decent benefits, perks, dental schemes and whatnot and could do very very well if there was overtime.

Yeap, just going off what a bloke in Canada told me. He was saying they hire filipinos and the like to fill the positions that Canadians cannot or will not do. So the next time ESL teachers get all high and mighty in China, it might humble them to know that someone buffing the floors on a night shift in some supermarket in the UK, may well be better off than they are. ESL salaries in China are an absolute joke right now, especially with all the visa nonsense involved.

but i do think its the initial return that is brutal yes.

And there can be reverse culture shock to boot. That also makes it worse.

I agree what you say about you will get re-established. I knew of an aussie traveller who was born in Scotland. He was broke and living in a hostel in Manchester, but from there he started working in bars at night, and then moved into a shared house. Then he got a job on nights at a hotel and moved into a better shared house. Then from there he moved to London and started working as a bus driver (paying much better than any ESL teacher in China could ever earn!) and rented his own place/or a much better shared place with others, he then travelled round canada and returned to Aus with money. Things can always change, and one won't necessarily stay in China forever or maybe even change jobs.