Roy’s Map

This is where I grew up in before I moved to the United States, it was a three bedroom, newly built apartment on the outskirt of our small coastal town. Some of my relatives lived across from the apartment and we had ample room space to accommodate everyone, which is the reason why I got a room belonging only to myself - a leisure I did not have after coming to the US. Since it was a small town and I had been an active child, biking was my way of commuting anywhere. I lived here for all 13 years of my life in China. 

This is the first place I lived in when my whole family immigrated here to the United States. It was a fairly large house located in Elmhurst, Queens with a lot of rooms and a lot of people. My uncle's families lived on the second floor and my family lived in the small attic. Since it was a relative's housing, we paid very little rent compare to others in the neighborhood, but it was not really comfortable for a household with a growing teenage (me), which is why I stayed out most of the time. Though it did get better throughout the years, I was eventually able to move downstairs, sharing a bunk bed with my cousin. Nevertheless, my parents wanted to provide a better living condition for us, so we moved after around two years. 

Because my parents enjoyed the relative convenience of living in a Chinese neighborhood, they choose to move from my uncle's house to a 14 story apartment only five minutes away. It was closer to the train and the bustling intersections, so naturally, the rent increased almost twofold. We could've used one more bedroom, but it was about as the best apartment as we can afford at the time. It's right across from a fire station, and that comes with waking up in the middle of every night by loud sirens, eventually, we were all used to it and we lived there for another two years until we moved to our current residence. 

This is College Point, where we currently live in a house that my family owns. We moved here due to its relatively cheaper housing prices comparing to Flushing or Bayside, both of which I personally like better than College Point. We have a living room on the first floor, and around 5 more bedrooms on second and third, which I think constitute ample space for my family. It's a relatively a quiet neighborhood that could use a little upgrade on its public transportation system, but overall I am happy that we are able to live in our own house.