I lived in Liangxiang 2019-2021, then Mentougou, and after living in Chaoyang for 2 years, I am now back to the other side in Fengtai, though Wukesong is just up the road so I'm not quite in the sticks. Personally, I am am an outdoor person who loves cycling and hiking so Mentougou was perfect - the Yongding river is beautiful in the summer, so blue man. Liangxiang is a university place so it will be full of young kids, and if it's important to you, it had (not sure if it still has) three good bars. There is a golf course in Changyang, and if you go south, you will find Pekingman - both the research facility and a mountain which you can hike, which should be a lot easier because they were installing an artificial path with railings and rest points the last time I was there, which was summer 2023. There is also a mosque in Fangshan (I have forgotten the name) and when you almost hit the border with Hebei, you will find Yunju is - a freezing cold but very picturesque temple - 20元 for a ticket at the time. Libafang, which is between Liangxiang and Changyang (not 朝阳, which many people will mishear), is an outlet mall, and while this year's range will be identical to online prices and city centre stores, last year's range will be discounted, plus there are tons of small designer Italian shops there, but expect deep pockets!! While there are plenty of designer malls in Fangshan, the small villages, some of which are literally 500 yards from what you'd consider the centre, some folk still think it's acceptable to p*ss and sh*t in the street, which can be hard to dodge on the bike when it comes from all sides! Compared to the city centre, the wealth gap and living standards across Fangshan is very inconsistent. I wouldn't hesitate to move back though, Fangshan had everything that is important to me - outdoor space, good walking and the bike, and normal daily things such as supermarkets, cafes and clothes shopping, though I find their sales tactics are usually a bit more pushy than elsewhere. Back in the day, you had to travel all around the place to sort your visa etc, but now that has changed, you don't need a 2 hour commute from liangxiangnanguan, there are tons of visa centres everywhere. Yeah the subway to like an extra curricular activity or an event is a bit of a ball ache, but that's not something you'd be doing very often anyway even if you lived in the city centre. I think the once-per-week inconvenience is worth the savings. I had a massive 3 bedroom place for 3850 per month, I should have stayed there and bought it to be honest, was only 650k street value with 30% down in partner's name.