@harryc0422 probably it’s because my family live in a single house, not in an apartment. Re apartment quality - I’ve lived in both luxury apartment in the suburb and old, okay-maintained apartment in the US, and I’ve also rented in Shanghai. With similar prices, luxury apartments in the US >= Shanghai > old apartment in the US. It’s not hard to find very nice apartments in Shanghai if you have the money. The problem is people are still not as rich as the US people, but with the same price, the quality of public service and even many private services, China could be better. That’s why aside from very good academia in the US and freedom of speech and self organization, my quality of life declines here a bit. And im talking about the less developed region in Ningbo vs NYC