Tangjialing "ant tribe" worry about rising costs of living

She decided not to leave Beijing to work in her hometown for fear of being single forever

Fiercer job competition and soaring housing prices have caused a heated debate on whether to leave or stay. Yang Lan, a CPPCC member, suggested during this year’s NPC and CPPCC sessions that university graduates should go to second and third-tier cities, ignoring the fact that some of them cannot do this.

First, not all university graduates are fit to return home. For example, for those who majored in information technology, it will be more difficult to find a suitable job in towns or second and third-tier cities. Second, most university graduates whose parents or relatives are not of high social status will have to do everything by themselves back home, while in big cities they can get at least some support from their classmates or teachers. Third, for many single youths, girls in particular, it will be extremely difficult to find a suitable "boyfriend or girlfriend" back home. 25-year-old Wu Yan comes from a village in Hebei Province. She is now unemployed in Beijing because she has failed to find an ideal job after graduating from university two years ago."My family hopes that I will return. With the help of one of my relatives, I found a satisfying job in the county seat last year. But, I left the county seat after only two month because I could not effectively communicate with the people around me. During my stay at the county seat, my parents frequently urged me to find a boyfriend despite of the fact that I could not find any boy who shares common interests with me in my village or in the county seat. If I continue to stay at home, I will remain single in the future."