Young people rent a downgrade: pay 250 yuan a month, I'm not afraid of being laid off

In May this year, after the post-90s couple Siwen and Yiyi both lost their jobs,

Rent from the center of Suzhou old dilapidated small,

moved to the countryside and rented an 80-square-meter old dilapidated house:

The rent is 250 yuan per month, and a contract is signed for 10 years.

Nowadays, "renting downgrade" has become the choice of more and more young people.

They spent hundreds of dollars to rent an old house in the countryside.

Transformed into an enviable "dream house".

▲

Interviewee Sessy in a sunny courtyard in the countryside

▲

Interviewees traced back to the rural courtyards they had renovated

One chatted with 3 young people who went to the countryside to blast and renovate old houses.

In addition to Siwen and his wife,

Some people do not hesitate to sell a house in the city to rent a yard in the countryside for renovation,

I have been cured of old diseases, and I no longer worry about being laid off;

Some self-taught carpentry in order to transform at low cost,

Accidents in this light physical work,

I have regained the sense of meaning that I have lost in my daily work.

Will the countryside be the ultimate answer to escaping involution?

Hear from their experiences and insights.

自述：思文、Ssisy、溯溯

Editor: Ma Shiyun

Editor-in-charge: Chen Ziwen

At the age of 30, my wife and I made a decision to move to the countryside of Suzhou. I rented an old and dilapidated house from the center of Suzhou, and moved to the countryside to rent an old and dilapidated house: the house is 50 years old and has an area of 80 square meters.

The house was rented in May this year, on Xishan Island in Taihu Lake, and the landlord was surprised that someone came from the city to rent the house, and he didn't even know how much the rent would be. In the end, we made a price ourselves: 3,000 yuan a year, signed for 10 years. The landlord readily agreed.

▲

Kitchen after remodeling

Everyone doesn't understand: why go to the countryside to rent an "old and shabby"?

We spent more than 40,000 yuan on the renovation, plus 30,000 yuan in rent for 10 years, which is equivalent to a total of 70,000 yuan in living costs for 10 years - renting a house in a big city for a year, this is the number, right?

How broken was the house at first? Because the walls were cracked, people in the house could see through the cracks. But the first time we saw this old house, we were intrigued. Three-bay bungalow, not big, enough for the two of us. There is also an ancient ginkgo tree that is more than 150 years old in the yard.

▲

Before remodeling

We take the low-cost transformation route, one month each for hard and soft decoration. The renovation tried to preserve the texture of the old house: the walls were not polished and painted, the floor was not paved with cement and cement was poured directly, and we did not make a suspended ceiling, but continued to use the original wooden spire.

We used the old objects we collected to decorate the room, and there were cupboards from my grandmother's house when I was a child, a crib from the Republic of China, an old suitcase from the seventies and eighties, a black-and-white TV, and candy paper from decades ago...... Friends all say: You are a post-90s generation, why do you have so many memories of the post-70s at home?

▲

Memories of the post-70s generation at home

▲

A cottage decorated for Christmas

My mom saw my Moments of Friends and thought I was crazy. For us, renting an apartment in the countryside is not a whimsical decision, but a choice after a major life transition.

I was born in 93, and my wife is 90 years old. After graduating from university, I never went to work properly, and renovated an old and dilapidated small school in the scenic area in the center of Suzhou and put it on Airbnb as a homestay. Yiyi used to work as an English teacher in a teaching and training institution, and her monthly income was very high, but she was busy and dark.

Last year, our industry has experienced quite a bit of turmoil. Airbnb withdrew from Chinese mainland, and my wife also left the education and training industry. We are both unemployed, and in the current environment, it is not so easy to find a job again.

We have always longed for rural life, and when I was a child, I had many happy memories at my grandmother's house and grandmother's house in the countryside. We went to a farm in the countryside of Shanghai for most of the year. Living in a house in a rice field, there is no one within a radius of several kilometers, and it is very clean. After experiencing this life, we are more confident to return to the countryside, so we came to Xishan Island.

▲

The surroundings of the old house

After the renovation of the house is completed, friends from the city often come to play, and they all like it. Even my mother, who was originally resolutely opposed, now says, "I don't know how many people envy you." ”

There will indeed be inconveniences in rural life, such as not being able to order takeout, and the express delivery has to go to the town to pick it up, but fortunately, the cost of living is very low. We calculated that every month we bought 1,000 yuan for groceries, 150 yuan for water and electricity, 250 yuan for rent, and the monthly expenses could be completely controlled at 2,000 yuan.

▲

I have to do three meals a day

What's even more surprising is that the villagers here are so nice and kind to us. If you move to a village with a bad climate, you will run into a lot of troubles later.

There are no lazy people in the village, as long as they can get out of bed, they are working, and there is not a single fat man in the whole village. Our house faces the road and there are many villagers passing by every day. But after living so long, no one has ever looked outside the door or come in at will. In the summer, the neighbor's house played mahjong very loudly, and as soon as we went to communicate, they changed rooms without saying a word.

▲

Celebrate Christmas early with other alien islanders

Rural life is good, but I don't encourage everyone to come. The self-media loves to post articles about "30-year-old naked resignation to live in the countryside", which makes people yearn for it. What they don't tell you is that if you don't have an income and no savings, you'll be anxious in the countryside as well.

My wife and I are not completely lying flat, and we are still "lying flat to make money". I found a house on the island to run a homestay, and my wife became a craftsman, doing handicrafts every day and earning income from clay handicrafts. Although we don't earn as much as in the city, we have less consumption and less material desires - my wife only wears pajamas at home every day. What's more, life has become easier, and there is a lot of time to spend freely every day.

▲

Fridge magnets are handmade

▲

Cats and dogs also moved to the countryside with them

A lot of young people around me want to lie down, but they're still (forced) to roll up. After all, the general environment is like this, and in what kind of soil, the seeds can only grow into what they are.

We can always hear such a sentence: If you don't work hard now, when will you work hard? If you don't suffer a little now, do you have to wait until you are old to endure hardship?

I agree with that. But today's young people are generally too tired and don't have time to rest and live their lives. I hope you don't feel ashamed of wanting to live an easy life.

In April 2022, I sold a 70-square-meter house in Chengdu and rented a nearly 1,000-square-meter sunny courtyard in Wenjiang countryside.

At that time, my husband had a hunch that the future real estate market was not very optimistic, and housing prices might fluctuate, so we originally had two small houses in Chengdu, and we had always had a dream of a garden house, so we quickly sold a house, planning to buy a small villa in the suburbs, and all kinds of flowers and vegetables.

But we ran all over the surroundings of Chengdu, but we didn't find a suitable one, and the value was far beyond the budget, plus the decoration, so we decided to take a step back: rent a yard.

▲

The small courtyard before the renovation

▲

The renovated courtyard

The rent of the house for 20 years is 290,000, which was paid in installments, and now only the first 5 years are paid. When you have to pay the rent in the future, you can use the interest from the previous sale price.

The renovation of the old house lasted one year and three months, and a total of more than 280,000 yuan was spent. But the rent plus the decoration fee is spread out to more than 2,000 yuan per month. If we had gritted our teeth and bought a large villa in the suburbs, the monthly property fees, parking fees, and loan interest would definitely be far more than 2,000 yuan.

▲

Small courtyard details

At the beginning, we planned to renovate at a low cost, but the size of the house was too large, and we didn't have a lot of experience, so we kept stepping on the pits. For example, the workers cut corners on the concrete floor, and finally we re-laid the floor ourselves, and the workers put all the tiles on the bathroom floor upside down, and the water flooded the mountain as soon as we took a shower......

All kinds of bad situations caused me to want to give up halfway through, and complained about why my husband wanted to rent this house in the first place. After going through a series of headache renovation processes, I secretly told myself: I only want to buy a hardcover house in the future, and the decoration is too overwhelming.

Fortunately, we continued to adjust our mentality in the process, slowly accepting its current imperfection and trying to enjoy it as much as possible. If we keep thinking about its flaws and keep falling into anxiety, we will go against the original intention of renting a house in the countryside.

▲

Drink tea under a smiling tree in autumn

A few osmanthus flowers in a vase

After owning the small courtyard, it unconsciously brought a huge sense of security to my life.

I was born in '93 and work in finance in the real estate industry. In the past two years, the general environment has not been good, our industry has laid off a lot of employees, and it is not easy to find new jobs. But now I can accept the layoffs very calmly:

First, the rent of the small courtyard is very cheap, so you don't have to worry about the monthly payment. Second, if I am laid off, I can go back to the small courtyard to rest and run some of my own affairs, so I don't have to worry about what to do if I can't find a job all day.

▲

Leisure activities: Drink tea in the sunset and watch a movie under the begonia tree

Now, we work in the city on weekdays and return to the courtyard on weekends to experience the natural life.

For the first time, I realized how wonderful the four seasons of the year are. Before, my perception of the change of seasons was just a change of clothes. Now, in spring, begonia flowers bloom all over the yard. In summer, woodpeckers make a "da-da-da" sound every day. In autumn, we wash the dishes while smelling the fragrance of osmanthus flowers in the courtyard. In winter, the ginkgo biloba leaves fall in a thick pile.

▲

Flowers blooming in the yard in the middle of summer

▲

Vegetables harvested in the vegetable garden

In the past, every weekend, I had to dress up nicely and go out to different check-in places to take pictures, in exchange for a bunch of well-edited photos. Now, every weekend, I go to the small yard to do farm work, dig in the vegetable garden, and get in touch with the soil with my feet down-to-earth.

Growing vegetables is a hobby that I developed after renting a small courtyard. At first, I was really troubled, my hands became rougher and rougher, and my nails were full of mud. But in the process of working, the whole person is fully empty of labor, and the emptiness in his heart is actually filled little by little, and he can really feel that he is gaining through paying.

We now often pick a lot of vegetables and go back to the city, and eat fresh seasonal vegetables every day. In April of this year, I planted eggplant, peppers, and green beans. When it ripens in July, there are too many vegetables to eat.

▲

Have dinner with friends on the terrace and watch the stars

The small courtyard also healed the root cause of the illness that I had been working for many years.

Previously my work was very rolly. I have to reply to hundreds of people's messages every day, and I have to reply in seconds, so I hear the prompt tone and have PTSD. I often work overtime until one or two o'clock in the morning, and my health has not been very good.

Now that I live in a small courtyard on weekends, I can go all day without looking at my phone, the pace of life has completely slowed down, and even my anemia has been cured unconsciously.

▲

The bedroom window is green

I have several friends who have recently been looking at houses in the countryside and decided to have a place to relax as soon as possible. Their main appeal is to give their children a good natural environment, breathe fresh air, be friends with nature, and have a healthy body.

On social media, many people don't understand us, saying that this house is not your own, why do you spend so much money to renovate it?

What we get from the courtyard cannot be measured in money. Eating healthy vegetables all year round, breathing fresh air, and basking in the sun all day long is the best thing for the body, and money can't buy it, and we think it's worth it.

This yard is in the village of Jiangning, Nanjing, rented at the beginning of this year, the house is about 100 square meters, and the yard has dozens of square meters.

I am a native of Nanjing and have a house close to the city. On weekdays, I like to raise flowers, and there is a terrace at home, but I always feel that I can't show it, and I have always wanted to find a small yard suitable for planting flowers.

The current yard was discovered when I went to visit relatives in the countryside during the Chinese New Year, and it only takes half an hour to drive from my house. It was originally a dilapidated house used to raise chickens, but the surroundings are quite nice, with a small vegetable garden in front and a pond dug by the landlord on the side, which is living water flowing down from Ginkgo Lake. When I saw it, I immediately planned to rent it, and the rent was 400 yuan a month.

▲

The surroundings of the old house

▲

Before the renovation, the house was used for raising chickens

In the past six months since I rented the small courtyard, I built the pool in the garden by myself and printed the curtains with plants. In order to save money, I also taught myself carpentry, almost all the furniture in the small courtyard is made by myself, the old wooden coffee table is 60 yuan, the bookshelf is 150 yuan, the wabi-sabi wind long table is 200 yuan, and the solid wood sofa is 500 yuan. I also built an ancient pavilion for basking in the sun and drinking tea, and it only cost 1,000 yuan.

▲

Homemade French bench table and solid wood sofa

▲

Homemade antique gazebo

After doing carpentry myself, I understand why many young people nowadays give up white-collar jobs and try to do light work. I find that doing carpentry relieves the sense of meaninglessness in my usual work.

I get a great sense of accomplishment from doing carpentry in a small yard and completing something bit by bit exactly according to my own ideas, which is a spiritual value that work cannot provide me.

▲

Tracing back to the rural courtyard built by hand

The first big piece I renovated was a double-open old wooden door that I bought for 300 yuan. I first read a lot of tutorials on paint removal, and I used an angle grinder + sandpaper to glue the tray + sandpaper, and completed the renovation of the old door by myself.

Doing carpentry is not as difficult as I imagined, not to mention that the Internet is so developed, I am all searching for tutorials to learn by myself. Girls can now also do carpentry very easily, because power tools are very convenient, and if you use an electric driver, you can screw it in with a single screw. There are also tools such as chainsaws and angle grinders, which allow girls to enjoy the sense of accomplishment of DIY furniture.

Moreover, I am engaged in film and television post-production, and I usually use 3D software, which has a strong sense of space, which has also brought me a lot of help to learn carpentry.

▲

Draw the structure with 3D software before you get started

▲

is tracing back to DIY furniture

Making your own furniture is unexpectedly decompressing. When I was doing carpentry, all I could think about was what was in front of me: how to cut this piece of wood straight, how long to cut, and how to put it together...... In those moments, the interpersonal relationships at work are completely forgotten.

The village is clean and quiet, the whole person is very relaxed, and the worries of weekdays are temporarily isolated. In the village, only the sound of the wind, the crowing of chickens, the barking of dogs, and the flapping of the wings of small birds can be heard. I was busy decorating in the small courtyard, very tired, but my heart was extremely peaceful. The small courtyard is like a gift from me, and I repair it with each other.

It is only now known that physical labor can cure insomnia. Every time I come home after carpentry, my body is very tired, and I can fall asleep as soon as I go to bed.

▲

The gazebo is being renovated

After renting the old house, I posted a photo on Moments. A classmate joked, "Do you want to help the poor?" Now that the transformation here is doing well, she said to me again, "You can call me any day you go, I am free every day." ”

Two weeks ago, some other students came to play in the courtyard. We ate and drank under the gazebo that I had built myself, and it was very pleasant. My classmates have all lived in the city since they were children, and they have a lot of fun pulling radishes and vegetables there. In the end, each person brought a large basket of vegetables back, and also sent it to the circle of friends.

▲

Corners of the home

There is a Nanjing Courtyard Life group in my WeChat, and there are currently more than 200 people in the group. Everyone likes to be close to nature, plants and fields. Some of them, like me, have already lived a life of raising chickens and growing vegetables in a small courtyard. Others are still waiting and watching for various practical reasons.

In fact, everyone wants to lie flat in their hearts, right? The ultimate goal of rolling every day is also to be able to stop rolling one day, right?