Shenzhen: Yeah, Good Luck Trying to Like This Place.
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I've only recently realized this too. When I was working in Shanghai, I loved going out. Now, in Shenzhen, I feel it's better to just stay home and do whatever I want rather than forcing myself to go out.
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My life now is just a commute between the office and home. I've always insisted on living in a proper residential complex, even though the rent is over 5,000 yuan. I just put up with it because it's way better than the 'urban villages.' Those places are truly chaotic—all kinds of people, some peeing in public, others walking around naked on the ground floor with their curtains open, late-night deliveries, kids crying, domestic arguments, smoking, and street stalls everywhere.
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Perhaps it's because you're living 'guānwài' (outside the former Special Economic Zone).
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Even Futian, Nanshan, and Luohu are chaotic these days. Only the luxury residential areas are slightly better. But a city can't just have its upscale neighborhoods being civilized and orderly, right?
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The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Living in an 'urban village' in Shenzhen, I'm constantly surrounded by noise. People in the 'handshake building' (buildings so close you could practically shake hands) across from me are playing cards, my neighbor on the same floor is yelling at their kids, and there are constant drilling sounds... it's complete chaos.
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And don't forget the screaming kids, e-bikes speeding down the sidewalks blaring their horns. It's just a total mess.
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In Shenzhen, I guess only Nanshan and Futian are relatively better.
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Perhaps other places are even worse, because Nanshan isn't all that great either.
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'Disorderly' is the perfect word to describe how Shenzhen feels to me. Everything is just chaotic.
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Seeing that recent incident in Pingzhou, Shenzhen, makes it all feel even more relevant.
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It's so incredibly crowded, people packed shoulder-to-shoulder everywhere you go.
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People are crammed together, and the cars are all jammed up too.
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Tell me about it! Shenzhen is completely different from what I imagined. My colleagues seem so listless, the roads are incredibly narrow, there are e-scooters everywhere, and the housing isn't comfortable either (and I'm mainly looking at apartments in residential complexes).