Also, if you are under 40 and are not financially secure I suggest you forget China altogether and look for alternative higher paying employment.

Well I would say you are right here. It's alright to be in China in your 30s imho...as long as you got your own flat with keys back home and some money in the bank. Then at worst case you can fly home, put key in door, and have some cash to tide you over while you look for a new job. And you would also be eligible for government benefits in the UK. I should have done that but hindsight is everything.

I knew an aussie bloke who was 49, who can (obviously) only be older now. He had no degree and told me he had spent a great deal of his 20's travelling, after he had grown up in Queensland after emigrating with his parents there from Wales when he was young. He told me frankly that at 49 in China he should have worked harder when he was younger and only had his mum to stay with back in Aus. He used to do ok in China though, always got lots of tutoring work, although whether he is still there now after the visa crackdown remains to be seen. I could imagine him in vietnam or cambodia or somewhere. He always told me he preferred it there to China, a nice bloke, but an example of what can happen. And yes there are older blokes from western countries in their 40s and late 50s homeless and poor in asia and thailand. search youtube for westerners homeless in thailand. Quite a few are sleeping on the beach in pattaya each night and getting aid from charities there.

Good luck again and enjoy your weekend.