In the "Life in Venice" housing development, a multibillion-dollar replica of the Italian city on China's coast, many homes stand empty. Yet the remote, partially abandoned complex has attracted new residents like Sasa Chen, a former finance worker from Shanghai who retired at 28.
Chen pays just 1,200 RMB ($168) a month for her apartment. She saved 2 million yuan ($290,000) and now lives off investment returns. "I have all the time in the world, the freedom of doing whatever I want," she said.
Experts say Chen is part of a broader trend of young Chinese moving to small towns for cheap housing, reversing previous generations' pursuit of upward mobility in megacities. As the economy cools, opportunities dwindle and competition grows fierce, many reject the grueling "996" work culture.
Some join the "lying flat" movement, shunning careers for a low-desire life. Others pursue FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early), made easier by China's low cost of living. At "Life in Venice," home prices have halved since the property downturn, and a meal costs under $3.
Chen describes her new life as perfect: a sea view, clean air, and cheap rent. She wakes at 10 a.m., cooks, relaxes, and walks on the beach. "I never believed that work is the meaning of life," she said. "My ideal state of life is not to work and stay at places that I like."
The development, built by bankrupt developer Evergrande, remains largely a ghost town with less than one in five apartments occupied. But a smattering of residents have moved in, some fishing in its tranquil waters.
