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You have to factor in taxes and what you made during the previous year in all jobs. Unemployment pays 80% of what you made so it's never the same from person to person. I applied for unemployment for a week, due to being in between jobs, and although I made decent money in my last gig (not aviation related), the job before was a ****ty paying line service job, which reduced the amount I could recieve. In the end, I opted not to go through the hassle for basically nothing and to recieve a check 14 days too late.
I'm glad to see others are finding prosperity outside of aviation. I personally also wanted to try it out and see how far I could get. Sometimes it's tough to think how far I would have got if I had opted out of this path, but it is what it is. Due to timing, or whatever, I didn't manage to make it into even a regional. Got as far as CFI and 135, and with the way the future is shaping up, I am glad I got to have a second chance at my old career and only fly/instruct on the side.