Made in Macao | Living a nomadic lifestyle in Macao

Jenny Lao-Phillips

A nomad lives under a constant change of location, involving minimum attachment to the immediate surroundings, not letting things own them, and meeting different people from different cultures. It seems like an interesting and free lifestyle. But it’s not that easy to do in practice, as one has to let go of all one’s possessions. It’s especially difficult for people in Macao with well-paid jobs, pets, cars and apartments. But yet, there are more and more young people living like nomads in Macao. Not the kind who travel to different places, but the “moving house every couple of years” kind.

Macao used to be a place where citizens had stable lives with permanent addresses. This seems to have changed in the last ten to twenty years, perhaps because many people cannot afford to buy an apartment; not shocking news to anyone here. On the other hand, there seems to have been a change in the culture of our living situations.

In the past, Chinese families valued the idea of 三代同堂, which means “three generations under one roof”. Young people used to live together with their parents and grandparents, even after getting married. It was probably around the 1970s that the tradition started changing with young couples getting their own place after marriage. With this change, saving up enough money to buy an apartment became a prerequisite for getting married from the 1980s to the beginning of this century. This change also explains why there was a decade where weddings and babies were few, followed by a boost in both resulting from changing mindsets regarding the necessity of buying an apartment. With the average salary being increased over the years, young couples do not need to specifically save up for a wedding, and as they feel they can never save up enough for an apartment anyway, many of them choose to rent. Having a permanent apartment became less of a concern to modern day young couples.

The other reason for more people choosing to rent instead of buying an apartment comes from globalisation. Aside from the issue of being able to afford an apartment, more people are thinking of retiring to other countries. Or before that stage in their lives, finding jobs in other countries in a few years. Therefore, settling down and buying an apartment may seem too much of an attachment to invest in. As a result, more young couples and families are living the nomad lifestyle, moving every two to three years.

Living a nomadic lifestyle can have quite a number of benefits. Firstly, knowing that one has to move every couple of years may help keep belongings to a minimum, thus saving money on unnecessary items that would be hectic to move. Perhaps this is something that will be well-received by individuals who have partners who love to shop! Also, if one dislikes like one’s neighbors, it is easy to quickly move away, or at worst, to only have to put up with them for a couple of years. No more worries about spending a lifetime with annoying neighbors.

Finally, with the current price of apartments in Macao, buying a mediocre apartment costs about the same as renting a great apartment for over 50 years, even after allowing for inflation. To quote the nomads, “Things you own end up owning you.” So, without a mortgage to worry about, we are left with more cash for travelling, fine-dining, or for emergency use, even if there are lots of hassles involved with moving around and there is the worry about not having a place to live when one grows old. But perhaps the best advantage to living the nomad style in Macao is life can be more flexible.