导读:房价如此之高，是买房过上安稳的生活？还是租房享受高品质的生活？这是中国年轻人普遍面临的问题。
When Zhou Yang, 26, wakes up in her Scandinavian-styled, two-bedroom home in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, and cooks breakfast with her flatmate, she thinks life is perfect - except that the apartment, which they furnished all by themselves, is not hers. She doesn’t know what she will do if the landlord doesn’t rent it to them next year.
当26岁的周扬从广东省广州市斯堪的纳维亚风格的两居室房间中醒来，和舍友一起做早餐时，她觉得生活很完美——除了这间全靠她们自己装修的公寓，并不属于她。她不知道，如果房东明年不把它租给她们，她应该怎么办。
Meanwhile, in another corner of the country, Bai Fan (pseudonym), 24, finishes up cleaning her newly purchased apartment and readies to go to work. After living in Beijing for years, she finally has a place to call her own. The apartment makes her feel secure, and things are going well, except that the property used up her parents’ savings and left her without money to buy furniture. All she has is a cheap mattress, a clothes stand and, of course, millions in mortgage to be paid.
与此同时，在这座城市的另一个角落里，24岁的白帆刚刚打扫完她新买的公寓，准备去上班。在北京生活多年后，她终于有了一个属于自己的地方。这间公寓让她觉得安全，除了它耗光了父母的积蓄，让自己没钱买家具以外，一切都很顺利。她仅剩的是一个便宜的床垫，一个衣柜，当然，还有几百万需要支付的抵押贷款。
The two girls, both living in first-tier cities in China, are facing a common problem: China’s housing woes.
这两个女孩都生活在中国一线城市，她们面临着一个共同的问题：中国住房困境。
China’s housing problems, rental or purchasing prices and so on, have become one of the most talked about topics in recent times. The housing price in first-tier cities, such as Beijing and Guangzhou, is sky-high. For many young people, purchasing a home is out of the question, at least, not on their own budget, but others see owning a home as a basic need and worthy of the sacrifice. Hence the million dollar question: "Should I rent or buy, and what quality of life will I have with either." "It doesn’t matter how long you can live in a particular apartment; it’s the experience and spiritual feelings it brings to you that really matters," said Zhou, who works in advertisement in Guangzhou.
近年来，中国的住房问题，租房或是购房价格等等，已经成为了最常被提起的话题之一。诸如北京或是广州等一线城市的房价高的离谱。对很多年轻人来说，购房不是什么问题，至少不在自己的预算内，但是其他人把拥有房屋当作基本需求并且值得为此做出牺牲。因此产生了一个几百万的问题：“我是应该租房还是买房？这两种选择对应怎样的生活品质。”周扬在广州的一家广告公司上班，她说：“你在一个特定的公寓里住多久没关系，关键是它带给你的体验和精神层面的感受。”
She thinks that renting an apartment is a better choice for young people
她认为，租房是年轻人更好的选择。
Zhou graduated from university two years ago, and the high housing price in Guangzhou left her no choice but to rent a place to stay. Fed up with living in an old and expensive apartment with limited space in the city center, she and her best friend moved to the suburbs. They now live in much bigger and cheaper apartment that they furnished to suit their taste.
两年前，周扬大学毕业，广州的高房价让她无从选择，只能租房住。她和她最好的朋友厌倦了生活在城中心又老又贵空间狭窄的公寓里，搬到了郊区。现在，她们住的公寓更大更便宜，她们自己装修以符合自己的品味。
"Renting doesn’t mean a lower life quality at all. It all depends on your own attitude," Zhou said. "Your apartment is rented from others, but your life isn’t."
周扬说：“租房根本不代表降低生活品质。这取决于你自己的态度。你的公寓是租来的，你的生活不是。”
Zhou and her best friend spent a month refurnishing and decorating everything. They redesigned the place in the Scandinavian style, painted all the walls white and dark blue, redid the floors and changed the layout of the apartment. Most importantly, they installed a big oven in the kitchen; they had always wanted to bake together, and now their wish has come true.
周扬和她的朋友用一个月的时间重新装修和装饰一切。她们将公寓重新设计成斯堪的纳维亚风格，把所有墙面涂成了白色和蓝黑色，重装地板，改变了公寓的设计。更重要地是，她们在厨房安装了一个大烤箱，她们一直想一起烘焙，如今愿望成真。
She thinks that compared with buying a house, renting means less financial pressure, more flexibility, and a freer and higher quality of life.
她觉得相比买房，租房经济压力更小，灵活性更大，生活更自由、品质更高。
Bai bought her 90-square-meter, two-bedroom apartment in Chaoyang district in Beijing earlier this year.
今年年初，白帆在北京朝阳区购买了自己90平米的两居室公寓。
"I want to have a stable life, and a permanent home is the harbor of the soul," said Bai.
白帆说：“我想拥有稳定的生活。永远的居所是心灵的港湾。”
It cost about 4 million yuan ($57.97 million). Her parents helped her with the down payment, but she alone shoulders the nearly 3 million yuan mortgage. Spending down to the last penny of her savings, Bai had no money left to furnish the space. Her mortgage is more than 10,000 yuan a month.
这间公寓价值400万（57.97万美金）。他的父母帮她付了首付，她自己承担近300万元的抵押贷款。房子花光了自己的最后一分积蓄，白帆没有闲钱装修了。她每月的贷款超过一万元。
"I live on my own, so there is no hurry for me to furnish it. I can save money little by little and buy one piece of furniture a month until I make this place a complete home," she said.
她说：“我自己生活，没必要急着装修。我可以慢慢存钱，每月买一件家具直到这里变成一个完整的家。”
With the housing price still surging, Bai is almost certain that she would not have been able to own her own place if she had delayed the purchase.
房价依然在飞升，白帆几乎断定，如果她推迟买房，她便无法拥有自己的住所。
The mortgage takes up most of her salary, so Bai has had to become more frugal. She takes the bus to work and limits her daily budget for lunch to 20 yuan. Sometimes, she skips a meal to save money.
贷款占据了她的绝大部分收入，所以白帆必须变得更加节俭。她搭乘公交车工作，限制午餐预算到20元。有时，她不吃饭省钱。
"Buying an apartment, for me, is bittersweet," said Bai, adding that her experience as a new homeowner has made her more content and grateful for everything in life.
白帆说：“对我来说，买房子苦乐交织，”她补充说，成为新家主人的经历让她觉得满足，对生活的一切充满感激。
With the housing price still unbearably high, the question of whether to rent or buy remains hard to answer.
房价依然居高不下，租房还是买房的问题仍然很难回答。
