There are days when you are not wrong. Not wrong at all. Thing is we now work together in the same school.
No, he's right. There comes a time every now and then when I wonder... Still, must make the best of a bad situation.
I called the people last night, so I'm now officially back on their radar. The amount I owe is less than 5500GBP, and I *could* actually clear that right now. I'm choosing not to because that will leave me with no safety net. I'm going to tell them that I'm unemployed for now, then that I am going self-employed in twelve months time. In July I will re-examine my finances, likely pay off 2k to keep the interest from going nuts, and then pay off the remainder in the following July.
My goodness, that's awful @bryanee. I hope he pulls through.
The repayment threshold for overseas residents in China is 6k lower than in the UK. So earning over 16k in the UK means you start paying back. Earning 10k in China means you pay back. Yes, cost of living is theoretically cheaper, but living in Shanghai AND having a mortgage bumps everything up considerably.
So "Oh, we've estimated that you only need 10k to live on in China" is pretty damned arbitrary.