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 yea rs , a nd Ha n na 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 differenceShunyi 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 n c t io n t o r e m e m b e r i s that the farther you travel down the subway line a nd away f rom dow ntow n , t he m o r e S h u n y i looks like every ot her out ly i ng 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 moveIn 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 outskirtsMoving to the ’Burbs

Why some families leave for greener pastures

FAMILY

Vanessa Jencksis a freelance writer and a mother of two

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