Tangjialing "ant tribe" worry about rising costs of living

It is just that I have not yet succeeded.

Li Ting, 25, an accounting graduate from a prestigious university in Beijing in 2009, now works at a food company, and is busy with office work all day long. 'As a small private company, there are only a few people on the staff and there is no standardized management system. I have to do whatever my boss tells me to do, regardless of whether or not it is my business. I always tell myself that I have to do so many things, only because the boss believes in my ability," she said. Although Li often works overtime and returns home after 9 pm and earns less than 2,000 yuan per month despite her heavy workload, she never complains, saying, "It is difficult for a fresh graduate to find a well-paying job. What we lack is work experience. And we have to make sacrifices to gain that experience and make progress as quickly as possible. Fresh graduates should not only pay attention to their salary…The boss has assigned me some accounting work, which is a great opportunity to put what I studied at school into practice. I have learned a lot by doing this job!"

Liu Qing, who graduated from the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, "I am tired of the media reports and comments from the public. We are just young people fighting for our future, and that does not mean our life is 'a total mess.' We earn little, but considering the low living costs here, we can live a comparatively comfortable life if we work hard and don't waste any money. We clean up our "palm-size" room carefully, dress ourselves happily, and work diligently. We make progress every day. We live on our own. We do not need sympathy."

Although the public label them as a "vulnerable group," the "ant tribe" members do not think so. They said, "Squat down first, then you can jump higher."

Group living an extension of campus life

As a way to reduce housing costs, group living is very popular among those from the "ant tribe." For some of the "ant tribe," group living is what they are most familiar with and are therefore most likely to choose.

Wang Xuejing, a graduate student, is now working as the technical assistant for a science and technology company in Shangdi with a salary of 4,000 to 5,000 yuan per month. Though he is earning a relatively high salary in Tangjialing, he is still living in a small "attic" crammed with other colleagues. The attic is less than 20 square meters with two upper-and-lower beds and accommodates four people who share the monthly rent of 600 yuan. Wang said, "it's not only for saving money, but also for the fact that we are lucky enough to work with friends from college so we are willing to live in a group just like we did on campus."

After graduation, Lin Weili has spent two years living with others. Though her roommates have changed frequently, she has never thought of living alone. "I lived in groups since I was a child and I'm used to it. Now I'm so afraid of living alone. It's too lonely and it's not safe for a girl to live by herself," she said.