That is Tom Jia. He’s a 28-year-old way of life influencer who calls himself a — Tangping, or “mendacity flat:” It’s a fast-growing way of life, rejecting social pressures to overwork and pursue materials success. In China, younger folks face intense strain to work grueling hours, purchase a home and get married. Some are quietly rebelling and selecting to do the naked minimal, residing a low-income, low-desire life away from the large cities. Tom’s function: making movies to show them how and the place to reside an inexpensive, stress-free life. Earlier than, Tom turned a “mendacity flat” influencer with 400,000 followers, he was one among many younger folks feeling burned out by the large metropolis grind. Tom was residing in Shenzhen, one of the vital costly cities in China. In 2023, Tom stop his job, purchased an R.V. and got down to scout China’s greatest cities for “mendacity flat.” He has turned this firsthand analysis right into a video collection and a spreadsheet that now contains over 100 cities. On this video, he’s introducing the fourth version of this “mendacity flat” metropolis information. Every place Tom visits, he talks to residents, excursions residences and movies the completely different neighborhoods. After that, he charges every metropolis utilizing a dozen completely different standards, like public transit, affordability and the way a lot nature you may have entry to. After China’s housing market went bust in 2021, the nation entered into a protracted financial downturn. That’s a giant a part of why “mendacity flat” turned extra widespread. The collapse of the housing market left smaller cities like this one with a glut of empty residences, making housing comparatively low cost. At the moment, Tom is exploring this city, Haikou, on the request of his followers. Between streaming income and viewer donations, Tom’s “mendacity flat” influencer work now pays for about half of his month-to-month bills. Tom’s new condominium, within the metropolis of Kunming, features a view of the mountains and prices a fifth of what he used to pay in Shenzhen.
