Because his parents were relatively older, they did not have the energy to keep up with him. The family lived in military housing in Yuanshan, Taipei at a time when many were leaving such communities, making his neighborhood a quiet and lonely place, and Chu recalls that he mostly played by himself.
由於父母年紀大，沒有體力管束他，雖然生長在台北圓山一帶的眷村，但那時的眷村人口外流，已變得安靜又冷清，朱學恆回憶童年，多半是自己跟自己玩的時候居多。