Guangzhou: Don't Come. Just RUN!
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Count your blessings. You'll realize your mistake when you're in Shanghai, where a regular apartment in a complex costs 7-8k a month to rent. Even a partitioned single room is 2k+ and you get frequent inspections. Affordable 'buffer zones' like urban villages simply don't exist there.
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I used to live on the top floor on the outskirts of Tangdong in Guangzhou. Aside from the occasional flooding during heavy rain, the conditions were acceptable. It had good lighting and a balcony to get some air. The base rent was 700, plus AC fees from May to December and utilities. Lived there for four years without moving or being bothered. In Shanghai, I moved three times in one year – either the toilet got smashed or the neighborhood committee would show up for inspections unannounced. Then the sub-landlord decided it wasn't profitable and kicked everyone out. It was exhausting, and with overtime, my health suffered, so I moved back home. Now, my place is next to a park, the environment is lovely, and I'm content.
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Young person, let me share a saying with you: 'A heart full of resentment leads to a life full of bitterness.' If you can't find your place, even the most prosperous city will feel irrelevant to you.
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What do you mean? Can you elaborate?
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The comment section is making me even more disillusioned with Guangzhou. All this talk about 'outsiders' and being xenophobic – they sure can rival Beijing and Shanghai in that department.
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Moreover, many Guangzhou locals take great pride in their 'old local' status and tend to be quite unwelcoming to those who moved their household registration there later.
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Don't come here! Go live in a Beijing basement instead. Guangzhou doesn't need you.
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Outrageous Guangzhou people! @Happy
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Urban villages are pretty much the same everywhere, but Guangzhou's climate is terrible – muggy and humid. That's why the dark, damp feeling in its urban villages is particularly noticeable.
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Not even close. Guangzhou's urban villages are different; they're way too chaotic. The ones in Foshan are much cleaner.