Here is some tough advice, take as you may but hopefully it may help you in the long run, even if it makes you mad at me now... I am not going to sugar coat it so it may sound a little harsh. Based on what I have heard so far from you, you may have some serious growing up to do...
First, NEVER quit a paying job until you have the next one. Suck it up and search for the next job, but show up at the old one everyday until then. Nothing you have said justifies quitting before you have the next job landed. Now you will have a gap in your resume (assuming you do not land one tomorrow). Now you are LESS employable because you are the guy that quit from your last job (or got fired, this is what they will assume, adults do not usually just quit without having another job). Unless they are water-boarding you or are bigoted against you (documented physical or psychological abuse) be the adult and suck it up, millions (billions?) do it everyday. The next employer will hold the gap against you unless of course they are stupid or desperate (everyone else is worse). On paper you are the guy who quits because of bummer rules, or got fired..
As for school (this could mean trade BTW, school is not a "PhD" for everyone...), again suck it up and get it done--which is what you should have done the first time. Things happen, you have to be prepared to see it through, go above and beyond. Losing an apartment IMO is not a good reason, unless there was much more to it, I am sure we do not have all the info? Having said that...in my experience the guys who want to graduate, figure out ways to get it done. I have seen guys live in their cars, shower at school or the Y, for a couple of years, move from couch to couch all because they wanted to get it done. I worked full time while going to college 20 years ago...I am now working full time and doing university full time (with a family and kids) just to get the degree. Many do WAY more than that.
Life is a series of choices, making a good choice today may mean some "hardship" today, but if it is a good choice it will pay off in the future. Making a bad choice may mean short term relief (quitting bummer job, quitting school) but will do nothing for your long term life. Another way to look at it, choices you make today have more to do with gains in the five to 10 year time-frame than they do tomorrow. That bad choice without correction today, yesterday or years ago doesn't really get hard until the five to 10 year mark.
Right now you have no post secondary education, no trade, no job, in a high unemployment area.... hardly the formula for success??? As for experience verses education, that only works when you get poached from the current job by the next employer. Right now, assuming the next employer does not know you from Adam (no nepotism) the lack of education makes it hard to get past HR (never heard of you, lots of other people with the same experience and XXXX education, do the math), it is not impossible but it is an uphill battle. Even if you get in, the other guy with the education will have an easier climb up the ladder--you will have to work harder and be that much better everyday just to keep up.
Let this be the wake-up call. Decide today how much you want to make in five to 10 years and execute, figure out what you need to get there in the real world (trade, education, small business), get it done. Hardship now, benefits later. Just make sure the plan is workable (for example if it is education it must be the right education, that will result in the goals--a business needs to be a good business). When you get there, look at the next 5 to 10... Finally, don't listen to the people that will blow smoke up your back side saying, look at Bill Gates, look at Steve Jobs--unless you honestly think you are one of these guys???
