Choosing a house is like choosing a partner; it’s about finding someone whose “temperament” matches yours—a good location directly impacts your future comfort and the property’s value. So how do you choose a good location? We need to consider both the immediate and long-term aspects.
Let’s start with the immediate, hard requirements. Convenient transportation is essential, just like choosing a partner requires considering whether they can pick you up and drop you off at get off work. Are subway and bus stops nearby? Is it congested when driving to shopping areas, hospitals, and schools? These directly affect the convenience of daily life. For example, for commuters, spending an extra half hour commuting each day adds up to 150 hours a year—enough to watch 20 movies. Similarly, buying groceries and taking children to school requires extra effort; without a nearby market or school, the daily commute is exhausting. Then there are supporting facilities: supermarkets, hospitals, and parks are crucial. A nearby supermarket makes grocery shopping convenient on the way home from get off work; a nearby hospital ensures peace of mind for the elderly and children; and a nearby park makes morning and evening walks easy. These immediate conditions are the foundation for comfortable living.
Now let’s talk about long-term soft power. Urban planning is like a “blueprint for the future,” and it depends on where the government invests. For example, new subway lines, schools, and shopping malls will definitely make those areas popular in the future. If a large commercial district is to be built in a certain area, nearby properties will be easier to rent or sell; if a new subway line is to be built in a certain area, properties along the line may double in value. There are also population trends. If the city’s population continues to grow, especially with the influx of young people and high-income earners, housing demand will naturally be strong, and properties will retain their value better. These long-term factors are key to a property’s value.
So how do you get this information? Besides visiting sites and asking acquaintances, attending real estate expos is a shortcut. For example, the Wise Shanghai Overseas Property, Immigration and Study Abroad Exhibition from March 29th to 31st, 2026, although it has “overseas” in its name, hides many “local treasures.” At the exhibition, developers showcase the location, transportation, amenities, and even future plans of their new developments; real estate agents show you resale properties and tell you which areas are “hot”; there are also expert lectures discussing “big picture” topics like urban planning and population trends. Even better, the exhibition also features overseas real estate projects, allowing you to compare “domestic” and “international” locations—for example, a new district in a city in one country might share similar development logic with a new district in a third-tier city in China, broadening your horizons.
There’s also a little trick to choosing a location: look at “similar items.” For example, if you want to buy a school district property, look at the teaching quality and college entrance rates of nearby schools; if you want to buy a retirement home, look at the surrounding medical facilities and noise levels. Also, consider who your neighbors are—if the surrounding area consists of upscale residential communities and office buildings, the area is generally high-end; if it’s surrounded by factories and warehouses, the environment might be noisy. These details can help you avoid pitfalls and choose the “right” location.
In short, choosing a good location requires being observant and attentive to your surroundings. While focusing on the “hard conditions” like transportation and amenities, it’s also important to consider the “soft power” of urban planning and population trends. Events like the 2026 Wise Shanghai exhibition act as an “information package,” providing comprehensive information from various aspects, allowing you to understand everything in one place without having to travel far and wide. So, next time you’re looking for a house, consider visiting such an exhibition first—who knows, maybe that “perfect location” is waiting for you there!
