“Escape” from the big city: When salary increases but health declines, move to a place where the salary is only half but free
I have heard this question many times: “Do you want to live in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou with a monthly income of 20,000 yuan (about 70 million), or a second-tier city with a monthly income of 7,000 yuan (about 24 million)? ” In fact, three years ago, I chose the first option without hesitation. However, in March of this year, I dragged my luggage and ran away from Shanghai with my two cats.
Three years ago, graduating in June, going to work in July, I had to fight with my parents for a long time and finally quit my job at the state-owned enterprise they arranged. I came to Shanghai alone and began to dream of “white collar in the big city”. Although my parents were angry, but in the end, they couldn’t do anything, so in my heart, my mind was full of scenes of office workers wearing luxurious clothes, holding a stack of documents to hand over to their boss. general records, modern urban life, heavy traffic in movies and television often shown on television.
When I first arrived in Shanghai, I was both nervous and extremely picky. The first job I took on was a copywriter. Not only did I sit and write for 9 hours in the office, I also had to write continuously for many nights to meet the deadline. After the project ended, I lay in bed and couldn’t even remember how many meals I ate in the past few days. This job is not easy to get sick leave, the salary is average in the industry because I don’t have much experience, until the economy is tight, I have to cut food. When I decided to quit this job, I walked down the street and cried, I never dared to complain to my parents through phone calls. At that time, the thing I was most afraid of was not a difficult job or an uncertain future, but fear that I would not live well, and my parents would have the opportunity to nag again: “See, I told you not to go to Shanghai…”
Of course, hard work pays off. In my second year in Shanghai, there were two more job jumps, but the companies I worked for also helped me grow quickly, and my salary also increased significantly. After paying off the basic living expenses in this city, balancing my expenses, I even have a savings, although not large, but enough for me to be proud of. The anxiety of not knowing if I could do it at that time slowly dissipated, and in Shanghai, which fully respects women and knowledge, I seem to have gradually become an independent woman. My parents asked me if I was thinking of going back to my hometown, but I firmly refused because at that time, I felt that I could overcome anything.
However, the first turning point that made my determination to stay in Shanghai shaken came from the beginning of 2016, when housing prices in Shanghai suddenly increased sharply, almost doubling. That is, even if I want to buy a house more than an hour away from work, not located in a school area, with an area of 80m2, the total price is at least about 5 million yuan (about 17 billion). To curb housing prices, the government has also introduced a series of tightening policies on home purchases, considered the most stringent in history. I had planned to buy a house with my boyfriend and then pay the loans myself, but this plan had to be shelved for a long time. At this point, I still console myself that: “You can’t buy a house, you can live by renting.”
One day, a Shanghai colleague a few years older than me asked me to “investigate the market.” After listening, I was filled with doubts: “Your baby has 4 months left until the due date, why do you need to find a nursery so early?” She reluctantly said: “I don’t know, good public kindergartens are very difficult to get in, waiting for children to reach kindergarten age will not be available. Otherwise, they will have to go to private schools, tuition fees can be up to more than 100,000 yuan / year (about 347 million VND). )”. The anxiety of colleagues made me suddenly realize that the struggle to live in the big city is not only mine, but also for future generations. The single, beautiful, rich and unrestricted life in the first-class cities will end at the time of marriage and childbirth. Because most of us will still choose marriage and children, even I myself am still not confident enough to be able to live the DINK way (eligible but not having children).
Although I understood from the very beginning that in a big city like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, to live a prosperous life requires constant striving and competition, but as the reality became more and more clear, I started to worry. House prices are increasing rapidly, but health is declining. As a post-90s generation, worrying about my thinning hair roots is no joke, at least I myself have suffered from severe hair loss after a long stay up late. Because of the pressure, the weight is also increasing, going out, there is almost no skincare or makeup, maybe this water won’t help.
Before, I didn’t feel any pressure and hardship, but when I found out that life had turned this way, I suddenly became desperate. One night, I suddenly had chest pain that made it difficult to breathe, my heart rate was only 35 beats per minute, and I was extremely scared. The next day, I quit my job and went to the hospital for a checkup. After the test results were available, the doctor said: “It’s not something that’s too scary, it’s low thyroid. You need to pay attention to rest, if hypothyroidism is difficult to cure, it will even affect fertility.” Hearing these sentences, I made up my mind: “Hide!” But unlike those who fled the big city and returned to their homeland, I chose a second-rate city, nor my hometown – Chengdu; it’s also the choice of many “flawers” from a first-class city like me.
Just like in Shanghai, I still work in an advertising agency and am very busy. My salary is only half that of Shanghai, but my whole life and mood have changed a lot. I suddenly went from “crazy” mode to “enjoy” mode. First, the quality of life has increased. Although wages have nearly halved, prices in Chengdu are relatively low. For 2,000 yuan (about 7 million), I could only rent a 10 square meter bedroom in one of the two-bedroom apartments in Shanghai. I spent almost 3 hours a day on the subway, enduring the crowds and fatigue to get from home to work and back. When I got home, I was exhausted. But for the same price, I can rent a two-bedroom apartment of more than 70 square meters in Chengdu near the city center, one room for me, one room for rent. Now I only need to take the subway 15 minutes to go to work every day, even overtime has reduced a lot, I have more time to do what I love.
Shanghai is the largest megacity of China, even the world. Although Chengdu is not quite compared to Shanghai, it is for those who prefer a normal life but must be more lively than the countryside. Moreover, now that the Internet has been extremely developed, with the experience of someone who has lived in these two cities, I don’t see much difference. When I walk on a street in Chengdu, I feel like I am still walking on East Nanjing Road in Shanghai, which is not bad at all.
Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou… when you are young, these cities are indeed worth the hard work of young people, because there you will learn to be diligent, Learn to persevere, and when you find the best and most effective way, you will understand the meaning of effort. But if you can’t do it, you decide to “run away” doesn’t mean we are defeated and admit defeat.We are all trying to get out of the cage, the shackles of reality to free ourselves. liberate our bodies and minds. Because who knows, if you leave a first class city, move to a second class city, in an environment that suits you better, you will find a way to realize your worth. ?
at Blogtuan.info – Source: Kenh14.Vn – Read the original article here
