“Stop complaining; there are literally people living outside of the Third Ring Road!” For the first seven years I lived here, I thought there could be nothing worse than living on the outskirts of town. When I first arrived in China, I was whisked away from the airport and taken to the far-flung east of Beijing to my new apartment. When I signed up to come, I was shown beautiful hutong apartments, flooded with light and surrounded by bustling streets. However, when I got to my new “home,” I wondered if there had been some mistake.
We rode the subway for what felt like ages, and when we arrived at the compound where I was supposed to live, I thought I had stepped into the Wild Wild West. Where was I? This is not what I had looked up preparing for my trip. I arrived on May 2, and on May 5, my roommate asked if I wanted to go to Sanlitun, which meant nothing to me then, to get some tacos for Cinco de Mayo. I was in!
We jumped in a cab, and 45 minutes later, we were transported to the world of tomorrow. We pulled into the Mexican restaurant, and I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. Why was I living in the sticks when this was just a short cab ride away? I made a pact right then and there that I would move into the city and never look back, which I did for nearly seven years. I found an apartment in a highly sought-after compound within the second ring road, a quick cab ride to the bright lights.
When I would meet up with friends living in the suburbs, it seemed like they would always be rushing for the subway to catch the last train before the service stopped at 11 pm or searching for cabs for ages to get back home; I did not envy them. I would always ask, why not just get a place in the city? It would save you so much time and effort. While they cited bigger apartments and lower rent, these reasons were not sufficient enough to me. But fast forward to today, and things have changed.
Now, I am a suburbanite. After a year back in the US, I am finally back on Chinese soil. However, I wasn’t quite ready to bite the bullet on an apartment, so a friend asked if I wanted to stay with her. She apparently had a three-bedroom place out of the city to herself. Forget outside the Third Ring Road; the apartment was miles outside the Fifth Ring Road. When I pulled up from the airport, my heart slightly dropped. What was I going to do way out here?
I was too tired during my first two days to care, but after settling in and getting all my ordering apps back, I was surprised to find that I was not lacking. While there were fewer options, I quickly found one of the best Chinese restaurants 800 meters away, and I could still get my Italian and Western supermarket fixes.
Also, the apartment is HUGE! The two-story abode also has an open layout, so when I’m cooking, I don’t feel like I am tucked away in some kitchen galley like Cinderella. How much is this island of paradise? It costs the same as I was paying for just a room in my old apartment.
There is a charm to living outside the city, and while I am farther out than before, it’s not as tedious as I expected. Luckily, I work from home, so I don’t have to deal with a long commute, but when I want to go out and meet friends, I enjoy the cab ride, using it to catch up on reading or beating a few levels on Candy Crush. I also appreciate the quietness of being in a slower-paced area and being out of the crowded downtown means that the pools, restaurants, and facilities are generally less packed and more relaxed. I am even next to a 4D movie theater that has become like a second home. I wish I could go back and say sorry to my friends for mocking their decision to live so far out, because I am really starting to like these country roads.
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