Cheap housing lets some young Chinese 'retire' early
Mar 2nd 2026
As China’s growth cools and property prices fall, an increasing number of young people are moving to cheap towns and ghost developments such as Life in Venice to cut costs, quit high-pressure jobs, or retire early.
- Young people are buying or renting deeply discounted homes in remote developments and small cities as China’s economic growth slows.
- The Life in Venice project in Jiangsu is largely empty after Evergrande’s 2024 bankruptcy, with fewer than one in five units occupied and prices more than halved.
- Former Shanghai finance worker Sasa Chen says she saved 2 million yuan and pays 1,200 RMB a month, which she says lets her quit work at 28.
- The movement links to broader trends such as lying flat and FIRE where people choose lower-desire lifestyles over high-pressure careers.
- From 2019 to 2024 Beijing lost about 1.6 million people in their 20s and early 30s, and youth unemployment for 16 to 24 year-olds not in school was 16.5% as of December.
- Some places like Hegang sell one-bedroom apartments for roughly $3,000 and four-bedrooms for about $13,000, making relocation extremely affordable.