After the Spring Festival, "youth nursing homes" have become an emerging topic.
A "nursing home" built by a group of young people in their twenties and thirties attracts another group of young people in their twenties and thirties to come here to drink coffee, chat, farm, bask in the sun... and enter the so-called "retirement" state.
Many cafes, bars, B&Bs, and farmhouses are also branded as "youth nursing homes."
In fact, those born in the 1980s and 1990s are far from ready to “retirement”.
The so-called "youth nursing home" just gives young people who are under stress a place to relax.
Young people celebrate the New Year in a group at a "nursing home"
Li Hui came to a "youth nursing home" in the suburbs of Zhengzhou. During this trip, she was invited by the founder of the nursing home to investigate whether it was suitable for "retirement".
This "youth nursing home" is located in Goutang Town, Zhengzhou, about 50 minutes' drive from the city. As Li Hui drove, she discovered that there were fewer and fewer people on the road and more and more farmland.
In front of the "Youth Nursing Home" is a large open field. A group of sheep are penned in a sheep pen, and a few chickens and ducks are "walking" in the ridges.
Li Hui is engaged in growing organic agricultural products and is also a parenting blogger.
Previously, the founder of this "Youth Nursing Home" approached her and asked her about the cultivation of organic agricultural products, and also asked her to make suggestions for the future of the "Youth Nursing Home".
The founder of the "Youth Nursing Home" told Li Hui that the "Youth Nursing Home" sign has just been put up and it is not officially open yet. There are no young people coming here to care for the elderly.
However, he heard that "youth nursing homes" have become increasingly popular online recently, and he hopes that the flow of people will also increase accordingly.
After the inspection, Li Hui believed that it has blue sky, sunshine, nature, and also provides guest rooms and kitchens, which can be used for long-term stay and mood adjustment.
For office workers, this is an ideal place for a "short escape" during weekend holidays. She also wants to recommend some friends to come here for "temporary retirement" and relaxation.
“Youth nursing homes” have begun to appear not only in the suburbs of Zhengzhou, but also in cities such as Dali, Xishuangbanna, Chongqing, Ningbo, Jiangmen, and Hefei.
In addition to the farm format, there are also cafes, bars, B&Bs, etc.
On the Internet, there has also begun to be a topic of "Is 'youth nursing home' the next entrepreneurial trend?"
During this Spring Festival, some young people can’t wait to move into “youth nursing homes” that have just been renovated or are still in trial operation.
Xiegang, who works in the timber industry at a forest farm in Xinjiang, went to a "Youth Nursing Home" in Xishuangbanna to celebrate the New Year this year.
On New Year's Eve, four young people in their 30s, including Xie Gang, gathered in a "nursing home" and had New Year's Eve dinner together.
After the meal, the four people sat around the campfire and chatted about the joys, sorrows and joys of life.
Some people talked about their unhappy relationship experiences, while others talked about life conflicts in their families.
Some people advise him not to be too "curious", but he will remind others not to be "love-minded".
The four of them chatted until 2 o'clock in the morning.
"This year is the most interesting year I have lived so far." Xie Gang said that since he came to the "Youth Nursing Home", he has set his mobile phone to busy status and "blocked" all incoming calls.
Focus on a real and casual atmosphere
Cafes, B&Bs, and farms are some of these leisure places that have existed for a long time. Recently, some of them have been labeled as "youth nursing homes."
After listing, the basic functions provided by these places have not changed much, but they only provide an additional atmosphere of freedom.
Vincent, who opened a "Youth Nursing Home" in Jiangmen, Guangdong, said that the site used for his "nursing home" was originally an old warehouse, which he later transformed into a coffee shop, and later named "Wanshiwu·Youth Nursing Home" brand.
Vincent also admitted that "Wanshiwu Youth Nursing Home" is still a coffee shop, but this coffee shop additionally helps consumers relieve some mental stress.
Unlike ordinary coffee shops, which are mostly opened in business districts or places where office workers gather together, "Wanshiwu" is located in a secluded location and the decoration is more "simple". The ground is covered with thick cement and pine bark instead of common ceramic tiles, There are wooden floors, most of the furnishings are simple furniture, the lights are dim, the colors are dim, and the equipment is simple. Vincent is both the boss and the clerk.
It is precisely because of this style that the coffee shop has attracted a group of young people.
Many people order a cup of coffee here and sit there all afternoon, just to stare at the sky and bask in the sun. Some people come wearing slippers and home clothes to have a simple meal.
Authenticity and casualness are the main themes of "Wanshiwu Youth Nursing Home".
There are no people wearing leather shoes or formal clothes here, and no one is holding a computer to sign here.
What people here talk about is not business, entrepreneurship, or cooperation, but life, feelings, and ideals.
After ending his sojourn in 2023, Lu came to Xishuangbanna, where he rented a private house and yard and opened the "Wenchao Youth Nursing Home".
"The reason why it is called 'Asking Nest' is that 'Asking' means learning, communicating and exploring problems, and 'nest' is a gathering place. We hope that young people can gather here and solve young people's problems through communication." Lu said.
"Wenchao·Youth Nursing Home" is a row of white bungalows. In the middle is the signboard of "Youth Nursing Home". Below it is a bench from the 1970s, and above it hangs an incandescent chandelier from the 1980s. There is a bonfire frame set up in the small courtyard in front, and many young people like to gather there to spend their evenings.
"Wenchao Youth Nursing Home" provides accommodation, and the furnishings in the dormitory are very simple. There is no other furniture except beds, tables, chairs, and cabinets.
Compared with Lu's previous youth hostel and B&B project, the "Youth Nursing Home" provides more social activities: everyone farms and raises livestock together, watches movies together, and chats by the fire.
According to Lu's customer statistics, the customer groups of "Youth Nursing Homes" are mainly young and middle-aged people over the age of 25 or 26, mainly those born in the 1990s. Many of them come here to "retirement" behind their parents' backs.
"Temporary retirement" for a better start
During that time, Xiegang lived in Lu's "Youth Nursing Home", sleeping until he woke up naturally every day, and then sitting in the yard and bathing in the sunshine of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.
In the "Youth Nursing Home", no one will urge you to work. You can communicate and entertain with everyone, you can bask in the sun and look at the blue sky alone, and you can also farm, raise, and cook.
"Be free to be yourself" is the biggest selling point of the "Youth Nursing Home", which is also closer to the "senior care life" in the minds of young people.
Xie Gang said that he actually loves to play, but those days he didn't want to go to crowded places at all.
Although the "Youth Nursing Home" is located in the tourist resort of Xishuangbanna, he did not go out for a stroll. Instead, he chose to walk along the path beside the stream with a few new friends, passing through tall shrubs that reached the sky, and looking for solitude in the primeval rainforest. village.
These days, he has made three friends, and two of the four have left the nursing home after the Spring Festival holiday and returned to work and family life.
After Xie Gang leaves, the remaining friend will also leave the "nursing home".
What is the difference between "retirement" life and real life?
In order to explore this issue, Lu also organized several emotional salons, where everyone sat around a campfire and imagined what they would look like when they were 70 years old.
Many people said that after chatting, they began to understand the meaning of life more deeply.
Once, a young man was very troubled because his family was urging him to get married. Everyone used his story to talk about the meaning of marriage.
The young man received great encouragement and left with confidence after staying in the "Youth Nursing Home" for 10 days.
Lu hopes that future participants of the "Youth Nursing Home" will have more skills, so that more programs and activities can be organized so that everyone can put aside their sorrow and have more happiness.
Since the trial operation, Lu has found that the customer groups of the "Youth Nursing Home" are mainly divided into two categories. One is freelance photographers, artists, writers, tour guides, etc. They have a stable income but lack the ability to communicate with their peers. On the platform, they will live in a "youth nursing home" during their spare time at work to increase opportunities for social interaction.
There is also a category of young people who have been working for several years. They are under great pressure and have encountered bottlenecks in work, life, family, and emotions. Some of these people temporarily resign, some apply for vacation, and some use the opportunity of annual leave to Go to the "Youth Nursing Home" to heal your soul. After a week or two to adjust, you can return to work and life.
Lu feels that "retirement" is more like a state of life. When a person is confused, he can choose "temporary retirement" and concentrate on basking in the sun, warming up by the fire, chatting, and going to the "Youth Nursing Home" to relax for ten or eight days. A month and a half later, maybe it would be better to start over again.
Vincent said that the first thing many of them do when they come to the coffee shop is to take a deep breath, then order a drink to relax themselves, and may just sit for an hour or three to five hours.
Later, after some customers got acquainted with each other, they even skipped ordering, and instead said to Vincent, "Boss, I'm in a bad mood today. Please give me a cup of coffee to make me feel better." There were also regular customers who came to the store on their own. Make coffee in the store, ask Vincent to help buy groceries, and then cook stir-fries in the store.
Vincent said: "The reason why 'youth nursing homes' are now popular among young people is mainly because they provide young people with a 'short escape' space."
dispute
Is "youth nursing home" a label to earn traffic?
Vincent has trademarked his "Youth Nursing Home".
He used to work in Internet media in first-tier cities, and later returned to his hometown in Jiangmen to pursue his photography hobby.
He often goes out to collect music and enjoys the joy of free creation.
In the winter of 2022, he transformed this dilapidated warehouse into a cafe in his hometown of Jiangmen and named it "Wan Shi House". He hopes that guests who come here can feel authentic and casual.
One day, a customer said to Vincent, "The rhythm and atmosphere here are very suitable for retirement." Considering that most of the guests here are born in the 1990s, Vincent launched the "Youth Nursing Home" sign.
After the concept of "youth nursing home" was launched, the coffee shop's business has indeed become better. Thirty or forty customers come every day, including police, lawyers, doctors, teachers, public officials, business people, etc.
In his opinion, some young people today will temporarily not be able to find their goals due to the pressure of life and work. They come to "youth nursing homes" just to "let themselves go" temporarily, which does not mean that their lives have failed. , they just need to find a new starting point.
"I often joke with customers that for an 18-yuan cup of coffee, 8 yuan is sold for emotional value." Vincent said that he originally opened the "Wanshiwu Youth Nursing Home" in his hometown of Jiangmen to allow himself to escape. In the workplace, I lived a life of "retirement care", but now I have become the person who is least able to "retirement care".
He is very busy every day with the customers who come here to "retire".
His "Youth Nursing Home" did not close during the Spring Festival holiday.
He originally planned to take annual leave after the Spring Festival, but on the second day of the holiday, regular customers asked in the community when the "nursing home" would open.
Vincent believes that "youth nursing home" is just a new label that combines the two opposing labels of "youth" and "senior care", but the core is that young people are looking for a place where they can get more spiritual energy. Young people Live your life through this short-term "retirement", recuperate here, and prepare to start anew.
Lu has worked in youth hostels, youth communities, digital nomad bases and other industries. Later, he started living as a traveler and has traveled to more than 20 countries.
When Lu was working on residential and health care projects before, he tried to let the elderly and young people live together.
Later, he has always wanted to combine the lifestyles of the elderly and young people, and explore whether the lifestyles of the elderly can also help young people.
As a result, "Wenchao·Youth Nursing Home" was born.
However, since the sign of "Youth Nursing Home" was put up, Lu's small home has been questioned by three people of different age groups.
The elderly think that the young people living here are not enterprising, the middle-aged people think that the young people living here are not doing their jobs properly, and some young people think that the "Youth Nursing Home" is just a traffic gimmick.
"Everyone's life time zone is different. Not everyone has to get married at 25, buy a house at 28, or have children at 30. The key is to live your own wonderful life. There is nothing wrong with many things if you do it later or slower. Some people really choose to stay in a 'youth nursing home' for the rest of their lives, and we don't want such young people to exist," Lu explained.
"Youth nursing homes" have now developed into an entrepreneurial direction, allowing Mao Liutiao, a girl from Ningbo who wants to find a yard to retire, to feel the "commercial wave" of "youth nursing homes".
She began to plan to build her own "nursing home", but she was worried that the concept of "youth nursing home" would affect her "nursing home" plan.
"We joked in high school that we would retire at 30 and open a farmhouse together." Mao Liutiao said that she and her classmates invested in a "nursing home."
Mao Liutiao and his classmates rented a house in a village by the Yao River and converted it into a coffee shop and tea room, with two spare rooms used for rest.
Mao Liutiao lives here and runs the entire courtyard. Single classmates often come to see her, and married classmates bring their families here to get together on weekends.
In addition to the partners who usually introduce some friends or companies to come here for team building, recently some strange netizens have also come here and expressed their desire to experience the atmosphere of "retirement care".
Regarding this situation, Mao Liutiao said that at present, as long as the netizens are relatively compatible, she can arrange for them to stay for a few days, but her courtyard cannot yet accommodate too many guests.
Regarding the current emergence of commercialization, Mao Liutiao and others are relatively calm. They feel that it would be a good thing if the yard can achieve balance of payments through some team-building activities, but if it is operated too commercially, it may destroy the "carefully built" building that everyone has built. "Retirement" space may not be worth the gain.
This article is written by our reporter Zhang Ziyuan
Coordinator/Lin Yan Zhang Bin (Source: Beijing Youth Daily)