Northerners, Still Considering Shenzhen? Think Even Harder! (Part 2)
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Since everyone loves reading this, I might as well write some more!
Firstly, let me clarify that I’m not criticizing Shenzhen. As China’s youngest and most prosperous “Tier 1” city (that is, a super developed metropolis), there are definitely many appealing aspects here. What is unique about my experience in this city is my background as an almost two-decade-long Northern native with an upbringing and mindset shaped in the north. While living in Shenzhen for five years, I did experience a lot of issues that I never even thought would exist.
Some may find these issues insignificant, but because I am quite sensitive, I believe many young people who are in the process of second-guessing whether they should come to Shenzhen to pursue their career dreams would also be concerned about them.
③ Those ‘Southern Specialties’: Cockroaches (along with all kinds of snakes, ants, mosquitoes, and other insects).
Let me talk about cockroaches, since you might have guessed that they’re on this list! Firstly, when I was living in the north, I had never seen this critter, not once! Although I could sense they already existed here according to rumors, the first time I saw one with my own eyes—the immediate shock I felt is simply overwhelming to describe. On the bright side, these cockroaches I came across were dead. But on the dark side, they were all over the place—literally hundreds of American palm cockroach corpses, those big fellows that only come out at night. I had just arrived in Shenzhen for the first time and hauled my huge luggage through a market. The only problem was, there were dozens of large palm cockroaches lying dead and squashed underfoot on the pavement, reflecting brown and yellow patches, and so there wasn't any free ground for me to step on.
It turns out, though, that I experienced the opening act of Southern diversity.
Mice were another surprise.
My first apartment arranged by company was crawling with mice. The good news was that they weren’t in my room. The bad news was that anywhere could be a place for them to appear. I did see mice while living in the north, but that was decades ago. In Shenzhen, they can always be found somewhere in the city, either in sewage pipes or out of the corner of your mind.Mosquitoes and all sorts of pests, watch out!
Note note! The South’s mosquitoes （some called “small bites”, which bite annoyingly tiny flies）are not the same as those in the North！
Tips for summer in Shenzhen:- Please use insect repellent!
- Avoid going into grass or bushes!
- Otherwise you’ll get bit dozen by dozen, and the bumps won’t vanish until days after.
- Use mosquito nets when sleeping at night, if you don’t want to be allergic reactions from unknown flying creatures. Believe me, a mosquito net becomes your loyal friend here.
Big Spiders!
An interesting phenomenon is that although Southerners on average, tend to be slightly smaller than Northerners, the rest of the local species tend to be on the bigger side. When once, living on the tenth floor, I discovered a high-legged araneus spider the size of my palm wandering into my toilet, scatters across quickly as I haven’t reacted, up onto the ceiling, which seriously frightened me.After five years in Shenzhen, now I’ve developed some basic defensive skills. For instance, hiring professional pest control companies twice a year to exterminate bugs and cockroaches at home, and being fearless toward seeing dead cockroaches killed with poison scattered and thrown away. However, there still remain moments where, in extreme emergencies, I grit my teeth to hold back from screaming.
Now that I’m back in the North,
After relocating to the North recently, I noticed ants occasionally sneaking into my new rental house. Even though I still dislike non-human creatures living in my home, comparing to the giants in the south, these small ants seems so cute and innocent. -
(Part 4) Updated! Let's chat about the four seasons~
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I want to upvote every single point in the main post a hundred times... And don't forget the giant snails and the crushed remains of even bigger ones...
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The first time I saw one on the street after it rained, I nearly died of fright! It felt like a creature from another dimension!
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I think I developed 'summer depression' living in Guangdong. It's like ten months of summer a year, and for half of that, it's too hot to go out comfortably. The year-round greenery, once novel, just became tiresome to look at. Most importantly, I was too far from home. After a lot of back and forth, I finally decided to leave.
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I totally get it!! I was planning to write about this too. I definitely prefer places with distinct four seasons.
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What I absolutely can't stand the most is how long summer is—it's unbearable, seriously! I used to hear that people in the UK get depressed from the lack of sun and constant cloudy days. Now, living in Shenzhen where it feels like summer year-round, I think I'm going crazy too! We're in short sleeves from February all the way to November, and it's always hot and sticky. I remember seeing debates between northerners and southerners about showering daily. I totally get why southerners can't grasp how northerners can skip daily showers in winter. You just can't do that in the south!!! It's way too sticky!!!
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Showering habits are different in the north and south, aren't they? Southerners definitely don't scrub their entire body with an exfoliating mitt every single day. If you did that daily, your skin would be raw in no time! They'd wash their hair, lather up with shower gel, and rinse off. That's more like a quick rinse, in my opinion.
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I'm from Guangdong and not scared of cockroaches, so they never bothered me there. But then I moved to Heilongjiang and saw these things called house centipedes (I think that's what they're called? Locals pronounce it something like 'youyan'). They scared me to death! The big ones are huge, and even the small ones are terrifying with all those legs. Being nearsighted, my first thought was that it was a regular centipede. I'd honestly rather have cockroaches than house centipedes, even though they don't show up often, they're still horrifying! On the bright side, I've lived in Heilongjiang for over two years and haven't seen a single cockroach in my home—not one. However, there are mold issues on the walls since it's an older building. Last year, in a second-floor apartment I rented, the wall inside a cabinet got moldy, which then spread to my clothes. That was a real pain to deal with.
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We call those 'money strings' (qian chuan zi). You might see them in single-story houses, but they're pretty rare in apartment buildings. It's probably because your building is old.
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The blogger is mainly talking to people from the north, so let's not get defensive. 'Different strokes for different folks,' as they say. And for those who imply that if you haven't lived abroad, you should just accept cultural differences—not everyone adapts as easily as you might. Everyone has different deal-breakers, and a place might just have something you absolutely can't stand. For instance, I visited Guangdong in late June. The moment I stepped off the plane, the humid heat hit me. I'm not exaggerating—every second I wasn't in an air-conditioned room, I was sweating. I constantly felt stuffy. After a few days, when I was ready to head back, my flight kept getting canceled. I even saw posts on Xiaohongshu (
) about it, with many locals saying it was normal. After waiting two days, I had to switch to a high-speed train, which led to my first experience of getting fed up even on an eight-hour train ride! While the greenery there is beautiful and everything looks clean, those two things were just too much for me to accept. -
And here's the kicker: flights in Guangdong are often affected by turbulence, making them as thrilling as a rollercoaster—and not in a good way! Delays are super common.
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I agree with every single point. Every year, people ask me why I moved back north from the south. When I say it's the climate, nobody believes me. But you only know if you can handle it once you've actually lived through it. I truly couldn't stand it...
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Even I can't stand Shenzhen's humidity and all its cockroaches, rats, and bugs. Maybe it's because I went to university in Beijing and really loved that dry, comfortable climate. It's just a shame it's so far from home.
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I couldn't agree more. After six months in Shenzhen, I just felt completely numb. It's really tough for people from the north to adapt. Going home is definitely better.
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Really? Are you maybe just a homebody? I'm actually really keen to go to Shenzhen or Guangzhou.
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Shenzhen's climate, cityscape, and cleanliness are already much better than Guangzhou and other cities in Guangdong. I lived in Guangzhou and Zhongshan for five years, and it was honestly a nightmare. My health had never been worse.
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What's wrong with Zhongshan?
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I'm in Xi'an, and I haven't seen a cockroach in almost 20 years.