I was on the phone with a Chinese friend and she told me she had to do some chores around her apartment. She
then started to ask me some of the words for the different appliances in English. We talked for a bit, but when she asked me how to say dishwasher I started to laugh. The reason is, the entire time I was in China I never once met a person with one. We then started to talk about the things that they do have and then this got me thinking about a conversation I had with a friend that led me to ask other Chinese people questions. What I had learned for these questions was what was considered signs of wealth for this generation and the parents of this generation. With this, I also learned a little of dating in China and expectations for the men to have before people are considered eligible for marriage.
For example in this generation a man that has his own apartment is looked very highly upon as a good suitor; if the Chinese man has a car to add to that apartment even better. In the previous generation though, if there was a refrigerator it was considered a very good sign. For the very rich, a man may have a bicycle.
I asked some people if they liked it now or the past. Many I talked to liked all the new toys they had, but hate all the pressure to get them. They would talk about the older generation with not as many worries, they knew the government would give housing. They did their work and that was it. Now, there is a lot of pressure because they could work their whole lives and never have their own home.
Buying a house in China though is really different from in the states. For example most people really do not like mortgages and mortgages in China from my understanding are harder to get. For cheap subsidize housing, there are lotteries and a common business is to sell winning lottery tickets and more. For more information Check out the podcast for this below
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