In the third year after graduating from college, I left Beijing for one and a half years. At that time, my feelings were depression, failure, inferiority and fear of being laughed at.
And that time, the city I went to was Shenzhen. But in the minds of those of us who study in a foreign land, staying in Beijing seems to be to prove ourselves, while leaving is a compromise to our dreams. At least for a long time, my values are like this.
Later, I returned to Beijing from Shenzhen. Although I didn't catch up with the grand occasion of the Olympic Games, I enjoyed more convenient transportation and more beautiful city appearance in Beijing after the Olympic Games.
I remember when I went to the Olympic Forest Park with my girlfriends, we said with emotion that it was worthwhile to stay in Beijing just for this park. Although, everyone is under the pressure of high housing prices, high rents and fast-paced work. And compared with me, they still have the distress of their children choosing a school.
At that time, the work gradually stabilized and accumulated experience and contacts in an industry. It's a wonderful thing to go to an art exhibition, get together with friends, climb Xiangshan Mountain, or go for a walk in Orson on weekends.
It seems good to stay in Beijing.
Later, I became a freelance writer, working from home all day, because there are cinemas, Starbucks, Meizhou Dongpo snacks and gyms downstairs, which can meet all kinds of needs of eating, entertainment, leisure and fitness, and often the range of activities in one week does not exceed one kilometer in Fiona Fang.
Because I am often at home, my rented apartment has become the center of friends' gathering, so I don't have to go out.
This kind of life seems good, too.
But I feel more and more imprisoned in a cage called Beijing.
In order to maintain my life in Beijing, I have to work hard and worry about my future all day. After all, if you want to live in Beijing for a long time, you still have to buy a suite.
Although my landlord Wu Dage gave me the lowest rent, I don't want to take advantage of my friends for years. For the same apartment, other landlords have rented more than my house at the price of 1000 yuan.
If I move to Fangshan, Changping, Daxing or even Yanqing, then I will go to see friends and art exhibitions, and the time cost will be higher.
The cost of living is one aspect. More importantly, I found that in the cage of Beijing, my world seems to be only Beijing. Although I have been to other cities, no matter where I am, Beijing is still like a mountain on my chest.
Beijing is getting heavier and heavier for me.
Until 20 16, 10, I accompanied my father to travel to Qingdao. On the high-speed train back to Beijing, I became as hard to breathe as a fish farther and farther away from the sea. Finally, when I was near Beijing, I told my father that I would leave Beijing, go to Xi 'an, or go to Qingdao. Anyway, I'm not here.
Easy-going dad, immediately expressed support. I called my brother in Xi 'an, and he also welcomed me. Then, I called Wu Dage and told me my choice. I didn't expect him, as the landlord, to support me without hesitation. He said, you are a writer, you should look around. If I were you, I would have left Beijing long ago.
Thank you, Brother Wu, and my former landlord, Uncle Li, for letting my experience of renting a house in Beijing only feel affection and warmth.
Then, sublet the house and hold various farewell parties with friends. I promised them that I would go back to Beijing from time to time, and later I did.
In the year I left, some of my friends went to the United States, some were preparing for the examination for studying abroad, some bought a house, some were busy decorating, some changed jobs, and some finally decided to get married.
Every time I go back to Beijing, I can feel the faster and faster rhythm in Beijing. This political, economic and cultural core area of China controls the future of China, and thousands of people of insight are delivering wisdom and nutrients to this great country.
The more you stand outside Beijing, the more you feel the greatness of Beijing and the wisdom and courage of people living in Beijing. I told my friends that you are stronger and braver than me, because you can still live a full life under the pressure of Beijing.
Of course, some friends complain that the cost of living in Beijing is getting higher and higher, people are indifferent and the pace is too fast, and they say they can leave Beijing.
As an experiencer who left Beijing, I said with a wry smile that although I am in Xi 'an, the pace of my life is exactly the same as that of Beijing. After all, all my clients are in Beijing.
A friend asked, what's the point of leaving Beijing?
Yes, there are my friends, clients and various exhibitions I like in Beijing. Why should I leave Beijing?
I think the answer is still that I am no longer locked in a cage in Beijing. No matter where I am on the earth, I no longer think about Beijing. I can see the world outside Beijing, not with my eyes, but with my heart.
After leaving Beijing, I found that China is so vast, so many famous mountains and rivers, and so many cities with profound cultural connotations. At least Yangzhou and Suzhou appeal to me.
Strangely, when I was in Beijing, I was preoccupied with how to stay in Beijing for a long time. After leaving Beijing, I feel that I can live in any city in China if I want.
Because I can afford a house in many cities except Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and China, I can easily pay the rent and give myself a home of my own at any time.
And Beijing is there, and I can go back at any time.
If Beijing is not the capital, only the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, will so many outstanding talents compete? The answer is no.
Beijing's climate is not the best in the country, and the natural environment is not necessarily the most suitable for living, but Beijing does have the best job opportunities, regardless of politics, business and culture. This makes many people with ideals and ambitions have to stay there.
Fortunately, Ma Yun didn't set Ali's headquarters in Beijing, which gave Hangzhou a chance to rush to the front line, and also gave students in the south and west new choices outside Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Beijing and Hangzhou have the same area, both of which are 6.5438+0.6 million square kilometers, while the population is 6.5438+0.2 million more than that of Hangzhou. Although Beijing is trying to clear some "bottom" people like me out of Beijing, it is better to invite some large enterprises out of Beijing, and talents will naturally flow to new cities. I just don't know if Beijing wants to.
With the departure of the "bottom" people, the cost of living in Beijing will naturally increase. For example, the vendors selling breakfast on the subway have been cleaned up, so people naturally have to spend three times the price to eat in restaurants, or they can only cook breakfast at home, but the pace of life in Beijing makes many people have no time to cook at all.
Of course, as a deserter from Beijing, I really don't need to worry about Beijing here. Let's go back to my own life.
Besides discovering the wider world, I didn't really understand what I needed until I was far away from Vanity Fair in Beijing. I found that those purses that I spent a lot of money on almost never carry, but usually carry canvas bags. I gave all these wallets to my friends in Beijing.
Although I am not tall, I hate wearing high heels, so the high heels in a shoe cabinet are almost idle, because I also give up those expensive formal dresses and usually wear chiffon, knitted, cotton and linen clothes bought for tens of dollars, and flat shoes just match these clothes. I no longer buy those brand-name cosmetics, but buy my favorite natural and organic skin care products.
It seems that my quality of life has declined since I left Beijing. I am no longer a senior white-collar worker in an office building, nor a freelance writer who likes to make a living. I am just an ordinary person who likes writing and makes a living by writing.
Once the spell of Beijing disappeared, I found my desire for material things less and less. I sent all the extra clothes in my wardrobe to my friends in Beijing, including cashmere shawls. I didn't want any extra trivial things to tie my hands and feet and make me uncomfortable.
Although I have been separated in the past, this time, I feel that I have broken the belief of so-called famous brand and high-quality life that I have been instilled in Beijing 16 years.
I just want to live a comfortable life, regardless of the quality in others' eyes. I remember a person I interviewed said, "People are mature only when they think of themselves."
Thinking about traveling abroad all day in Beijing, especially in the circle of friends. Now, I just want to visit all the places of interest in China, the famous mountains and rivers. To this end, I began to exercise my thigh muscles. Although my friend Dr. Zhao said that your legs would get thicker and thicker, I said, I don't care. In order to live to be 80 years old, I can climb mountains. What's wrong with thick legs?
After doing this, one day I told my brother that you don't have to worry about being cheated anymore, because I don't care what he used to seduce me.
Of course, I also bought a house of my own, and the down payment was less than one tenth of that of my girlfriend who bought a house outside the Sixth Ring Road in Beijing. And the mortgage that needs to be repaid every month is less than one-third of my friend who bought a house in Huairou.
When he told me that if my mortgage was as low as yours, I would also like to travel around, I was heartless and secretly happy.
Yes, Beijing, after I left you, I gained unprecedented freedom.
I don't need to be a Beijinger from China, I just need to be a Beijinger from China.