"Back home I used to cook more, plan things out, go out to buy stuff, etc. Here, I can just tap my phone and everything shows up at my door in like 20-30 minutes."
The House Stopped Asking
u/fastmoss_1:
"Food, groceries, random stuff I didn't even plan to buy... it's all just too easy. At first it felt amazing. Now I'm starting to notice I barely go out for small things anymore. Even when I think \"I should probably go get this myself,\" I still end up ordering it."
u/fastmoss_1:
"Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing long term. On one hand, it saves so much time. On the other, I kind of feel like I'm becoming less active without even realizing it."
A Small Adventure Lost
u/Advanced-Parking173:
"Yes 100% I have no other way of describing it better but I have the exact same feeling as you."
"In a way it kind of feels depressing because there's no small adventures in going out to new streets and finding new restaurants or places (I can just search on my phone and find the best ones in 5 seconds)."
u/Advanced-Parking173:
"However I don't think it's good from a mental health perspective because instead of walking to the shops or exploring \"unknown\" areas, we mostly just end up ordering food and using that extra time saved on our phones or watching TV."
The Market Still Has A Texture
u/Resres2208:
"I don't buy groceries unless they are cheaper than at the supermarket. I find fruit and veg delivered to my home are often not as presentable as what you would pick yourself. And for some fruits it's difficult to gauge how much you are paying with a weight range for what you pay."
u/Training_Guide5157:
"I have about 6 little markets in walking distance of me, and 5 of them are generally empty while the 1 market is always booming with people, even though it's slightly out of the way, but is just known by everybody to have better quality produce, fruit, and meat"
u/Training_Guide5157:
"This was also true in the small community in Shenzhen where I used to live. It was one known market in the back of a small street where everybody would shop because deliveries came in fresh each morning."
u/immacooknotachef:
"I always feel invigorated. I love shopping at the fruit stands, eating at the local alley restaurants and strolling to the subway to meet friends; there's so much local life to live. I'm 60 so that might be the difference."
Thirty Minutes From Anything
u/OutsiderInCider:
"Meituan to have most of my meals delivered starting at 3 USD, anything else you could want or need from TaoBao. Shit's nuts, I only go out to socialize or see sights because everything else is a secure electronic payment and 30 minutes or less away from my front door."
u/malusfacticius:
"Woke up this very morning with pain in my left foot due to which could be temporal foot malposition . So tender I couldn't walk. Ordered a pair of crutches off Meituan, that was delivered in about 30 minutes. So that I could limp into my car."
The Phone Still Rules The Trip
u/Own-Craft-181:
"Once, my phone battery died as I was trying to enter the subway. I told the transportation employees that I don't have cash and my phone battery is dead. They just laughed and swiped me in."
u/Own-Craft-181:
"But I felt nervous because EVERYTHING in China runs through WeChat and AliPay."
Convenience Is Not One Thing
u/Low_Seesaw3577:
"I haven't cooked, cleaned, done physical food shopping, or used public transport in so long. I don't feel at all bad about it, it frees up my time to do things I actually want to do."
u/BoysenberryIcy9798:
"To not be \"lazy\" I try to go out at least every other day to keep my mind busy. This could be going to the gym, playing sports, Driving to do groceries at Sam's Club or Costco (actually shopping in person)."
u/YamaKasin:
"Just wasted 2h looking for the right charger with the right voltage and polarity, the physical shops don't sell it (no one in the entire shopping mall had a clue where I can find it) and there was no online delivery for the same day."
u/Jazzlike-Job-6559:
"It actually cook way more here. Because I have control over the quality. After having a few to many mystery meats from meituan and following food poisoning I really think twice before ordering in...."
The Question At The Door
u/fastmoss_1:
"Curious if anyone else felt this after living here for a while, or if I'm just overthinking it."
Source: Original Reddit post by u/fastmoss_1 in r/chinalife, with selected public replies quoted above. Quotes are preserved as personal accounts; this article does not present one person's experience as universal.