Most importantly — when the era is favorable and the environment is right, even ordinary people can ride the wave to prosperity.
For ordinary people, no investment is more significant than buying property. Most people won’t put hundreds of thousands into stocks, but they will put hundreds of thousands into real estate. Property is the investment tool most capable of widening the wealth gap among ordinary people — because in investment terms, this is a heavy-position, leveraged play.
Even if you tell yourself you’re buying a home purely for personal use, from the perspective of asset appreciation and depreciation, buying property is an investment act.
Whether property prices rise is closely tied to the fortune — the economic development — of the city. Choosing which city to buy in means choosing to bind your financial future to that city’s financial future.
I have relatives who, seeing Shanghai’s strong economic development, moved there and bought property. The appreciation on that personal-use home outpaced decades of their earned income. Those who bought multiple units at the time later achieved complete financial freedom.
They were all ordinary wage earners — not born into cities with strong fortune. But because of one decision to relocate, they captured the dividends of both era and environment.
In the past five years, property prices in many economically thriving cities around the world have doubled. Opportunity is everywhere.
Choosing your environment is choosing your investment. Changing your environment is changing your investment.
Many people underestimate the importance of relocating. For ordinary people, moving to a new city may turn out to be the single most significant investment of their entire lives.
The macro environment, the big direction — these are what matter most for ordinary people. The more ordinary you are, the more your prospects depend on the overall economic climate.
Individual effort, measured against era, trend, and environment, amounts to very little.