Compromise in Love and Home(2)

This September, Sun's parents sold the apartment at over 700,000 yuan, and bought a smaller apartment for themselves at 500,000 yuan, with the rest set aside to support their son's purchase of his own home.  But the trouble from the first time around and the experience over the previous year had pushed the couple over the edge, and they  broke up before the new apartment was bought.

The story of Liu Bing (a pseudonym) is a happier one.

Born in 1981, Liu works in a well known communication equipment company in Beijing. In 2006, he bought an apartment in full payment up front and became a rare example among his friends. But all the money was provided by his family.

Liu was lucky enough to be free from the anxiety of repaying loans which plagues most young home owners. But the money for his new home didn’t come easy either.

To buy a home for their only son, Liu's parents not only took out all their savings, but borrowed from their richer relatives.

"We’ll take care of the debt for them," Liu and his girlfriend claim. To take the debt on their shoulders seems to have made them less guilty about the situation. Both earning good money at the moment, they say they plan to buy an apartment for their parents in Beijing when they're better off.

Both backed by their parents, the two couples lead completely different lives. From this, we realize that the foundation of a young family is its own economic independence, not their parents'.

So what if you don't come from a rich family? Many of Liu and Sun's age have already begun to bear the financial burdens themselves.

An Idle Home

Not all of the post-1980 generation rely on their parents. Liu Hu is an example.

Born in 1980, Liu Hu works in a power company in the south, with an above-average salary. In 2005, he bought an apartment with five rooms in his hometown. Without a well-off family to fall back on, he managed to meet the down payment mostly on his own. Now he's repaying the loan in monthly payments of 1,700 yuan over a 20-year term.