Why are locals fleeing Beijing?

An online post by a Beijinger, who is about to move his family out of the city because of the high house prices, has struck a chord with the public and aroused much sympathy.

Mr Yu wrote that he bought an apartment in 2005 in suburban Beijing after years of hard work. However, he became jobless during the financial crisis. He didn't want to rely on his parents. Instead, he sold his apartment for 400,000 yuan in 2009 without telling his parents and moved into a rented apartment. With the skyrocketing house prices in the suburbs, Yu couldn't even afford the down payment on another place.

His wife said to him: "If we can't make it, we can move to my hometown in Shandong province."