1. it was quite full. We knew we had to move
somewhere bigger, but realized renting a
two- or three-bedroom apartment within the
Fifth Ring Road in Beijing was beyond our
budget,” says Tom. They moved to a three
bedroom in Shunyi Town for ¥4,200. “It’s
less hectic. It’s similar to a second or third-
tier city; there are no high rises, fewer cars
and more trees and parks than downtown.”
He adds, “Even though Shunyi is rapidly
urbanizing, it offers a slower pace of life
compared to downtown. More people have
moved here, especially since the subway line
opened, however it still has a strong appeal
to families. There are good schools, hospitals
and malls.”
Thirteen-year-old Hannah Kester and
her family moved to Shunyi when she was
6 years old. They lived in downtown Beijing
for three years after moving there from Cali-
fornia when she was 3. Her parents decided
to relocate to Shunyi in order to be closer to
the British School of Beijing, which she and
another sister attend. “It was easier for me
to go to school func-
tions and after-school
events. Also, if I was
sick or if I forgot some-
thing at school, it was
easier for my parents
to go back to school to
get it,” Hannah says.
The Kester family has
now lived in Shunyi
compounds for seven
years, a nd Ha nna h
considers the area to be her hometown.
Mae Yeung, 40, of Hong Kong, moved
to Shunyi for an entirely different reason. “As
a play therapist, living in Shunyi means I am
closer to my clients and their parents for play
therapy services and parenting workshops,”
she explains. Her family moved to Shunyi
from Chaoyang three years ago, and they
greatly enjoy what Shunyi offers. “[Our fa-
vorite things about Shunyi are the] space and
better weather. Foods are close too; you don’t
need to drive very far to get different foods.”
She also loves the greater access to Christian
fellowship with other Hong Kong natives in
Shunyi.
Community difference
Shunyi is a unique district because of its
density of expat families and international
schools. Typically, Sunbelt city suburbs and
Beijing’s outer districts do not have such a
high concentration of international schools
in one area. To match this uniqueness, many
organizations and businesses have formed
to serve the diverse number of families in
this area. Australian Bec Taylor, a 34-year-
old mother of two, moved directly to Shunyi
from Dhaka, Bangladesh, in order to be close
to her immediate family. She is a leader of
the thriving La Leche League chapter in
Shunyi; La Leche League is a global breast-
feeding support group which is dependent
upon volunteer leaders and attendees to keep
its global chapters open and healthy.
Both Mae Yeung’s family and Hannah’s
family benefit from Sports Beijing. “[Here
there is] more access to extracurricular activ-
ities like baseball and gymnastics, organized
by Sports Beijing,” says Mae. This access to
team sports is important to her as a home-
schooled family. “I go every Saturday at 3pm
to participate in their different sports,” adds
Hannah. She has also been significantly im-
pacted by theater productions at her school
and the Beijing Playhouse. “I loved meeting
people from all different cultures. I’ve got-
ten to know people on a higher level, and it’s
improved my social skills. It makes me feel
more comfortable on stage. By having all of
these people around [who I’ve gotten to know
well], it’s opened up a new journey in my
life.”
A k e y
d i s t i nc t io n t o
r e m e m b e r i s
that the farther
you travel down
the subway line
and away from
downtown, t he
m o r e S h u n y i
looks like every
ot her outlying
Beijing district.
Tom explains, “There are no foreigners [in
our neighborhood] and few creature comforts
compared to downtown, like foreign restau-
rants or bars. There is definitely a deeper
connection to China living here, but it would
be nice to have more diversity and a local cir-
cle of expat parents.” Even in the compounds
closer to the city, Hannah points out “The
kind of age group you don’t see here often is
[single] 20-year-olds to 35-year-olds.”
This would be a huge deterrent for us,
since my husband and I typically prefer to
spend time with single and childless couples.
It’s much easier to add one or two plates to
the dinner table, as long as the guests don’t
mind the mess and the intrusive, inquisi-
tive nature of my toddlers. These friends are
more reliable babysitters and have more time
to spend with us. A handful of these friends
have become like our immediate family as
they have sought to learn about family life
from us.
Moving to Shunyi?
After moving to Beijing, we vowed our fam-
ily would never live where we had to have a
car. Living in the country sometimes meant
a 40-minute drive for groceries or an hour for
school; this also meant a lifelong struggle
with weight. When I moved to Beijing, the
first city where I lived without a car, I lost 14
pounds within the first month of living here
without much change to my diet. Bec, who
would live downtown if she was not a mom,
agrees that a heavy reliance on a car is one
of the sacrifices of living in Shunyi. “If you
are willing to give up the cosmopolitan city
life where you can get something amazing
to eat at any hour of the day, where you can
access culture of so many kinds, where you
will probably have to rely on some kind of
motorized vehicle to get around, then come
on out,” she says.
Tom agrees with Bec about the cultural
experience of Beijing. “If you’re single or
childless it’s great to live downtown. Indeed,
it would be a somewhat wasteful existence
to live in the remote city outskirts where you
can’t experience the cultural vitality of Bei-
jing. However, for us, our priorities changed
when our daughter was born.” He adds, “We
probably would still live downtown if hous-
ing was more affordable, but [being mindful
of our daughter] is the primary reason we
moved.”
Since Tom just moved to Shunyi this
past March, he has solid advice for families
seriously considering a move to Shunyi:
“Research different neighborhoods before,
paying particular attention to proximity to
transport, shopping, amenities and services.
You can enjoy a lifestyle similar to one of-
fered in villa neighborhoods by living in
Shunyi town for a fraction of the cost, but be
mindful that there are few expat parents. If
you need to commute regularly downtown,
it might be best to live around Houshayu or
Sunhe. If you like your chosen apartment
and know you will be in Shunyi for at least
a couple of years, try to negotiate a longer
lease with your landlord to have a fixed rent-
al fee and avoid annual hikes.”
While Shunyi gets unfairly denigrated
as an American suburb plunked down in the
hinterlands of Beijing, it does offer a family-
friendly lifestyle and an array of school
choices, both of which are definitely lacking
in the city center. But speaking with vari-
ous families who’ve made the move (we’re
still staying in the downtown), it seems that
in Beijing, cost and convenience are two of
the largest factors in making the move to
Shunyi. It’s not for everyone, but for those
who need the extra space and an atmosphere
perfect for raising a family close to Western
standards, it may just be a
smart move.
GIt’s a bit unusual for an American
mom to secretly hope to move closer
into the heart of a city as her chil-
dren grow, but I love the buzz of the city. I’ve
had plenty of the slow suburban pace and
the isolated country life as a child and young
adult. At 21, I was excited to move into the
big city of Fort Worth, Texas. While there, I
had the privilege of studying urban history
(perhaps somewhat related to my rural up-
bringing).
Fort Worth is a Sunbelt city, which
refers to American cities dotted along the
warmer, southern half of the United States.
When I moved with my husband and two
toddlers to massive Beijing, I was struck by
how many characteristics Beijing and the
Sunbelt cities have in common.
The most peculiar similarity is urban
exodus (also, sadly, known as "white flight"
in the States). Urban exodus can happen
for a variety of reasons, whether economic,
cultural or based on lifestyle preferences.
In any case, while it can be caused by many
different reasons, the effects are easily dis-
tinguishable. The basic idea is that there is
a core downtown area surrounded by stag-
gered rings of areas with cheaper and cheap-
er housing. After the last ring of lower-cost
housing is a ring of separate communities
and suburbs, which use the benefits of the
core downtown without forcing residents of
the outlying areas to regularly travel down-
town. In Fort Worth, these were actual mu-
nicipalities; in Beijing, they’re referred to as
districts. But every morning, in Fort Worth
and in Beijing, people living in these outly-
ing areas commute to work, jamming city
streets, then return home at the end of day.
While younger Americans are finally
coming back the city, it is still impossible
to predict whether they will stay and raise
families there, instead of following in their
parent’s footsteps back to the detached home
with a white picket fence. But in Beijing,
there are more reasons to move out to the
suburbs beyond a cultural preference. Many
international schools are located in Shunyi,
as well as roomier housing for those with
large families, which are uncommon among
Chinese due to the (relaxed, but still in force)
one-child policy.
Families who made the move
In Sunbelt cities, urban exodus began pri-
marily when wealthy city residents wanted
to avoid crumbling city infrastructure and
city taxes. Lifestyle improvements concern-
ing space, traffic, family life and homoge-
neous neighbors were considered perks.
Beijing families move to Shunyi pri-
marily for lifestyle improvements and milder
housing prices. Australian Tom Fearon’s fam-
ily is a prime example. Tom married Xiaojing
in 2009, and in 2013, Xiaojing gave birth to
their daughter, Miya. They were living in a
one-bedroom near the Bird’s Nest for ¥4,700.
“Xiaojing’s mother lives with us, so all four
of us in a one-bedroom apartment meant
If you’re single or childless
it’s great to live downtown.
Indeed, it would be a
somewhat wasteful
existence to live in the
remote city outskirts
Moving to the ’Burbs
Why some families leave for greener pastures
FAMILY
Vanessa Jencks
is a freelance writer
and a mother of two
42 | Jan 7 - Feb 4 Beijing Parents Kids | 43