Suzhou Expat - The expatriate portal in China

Hi
I am a Canadian and I have been offered a position in Wuxi. I am excited about this opportunity but I have no idea where to live or what to expect over there.
I know one other that is planning to live in Suzhou and commute to the plant in Wuxi because he says Suzhou has a better ex-pat community and a nicer city to live such as in SIP.

I am married with Two young kids. The assignment will be about 2-3 years.
So we want to be close to a school, shopping, fitness center.

Please help. I am not looking for real-estate agents at this time so please do not respond if you are one.

I will be come over for a look see in a couple weeks and need help as to what to check out and look for.

Also feel free to offer opinions of whether Wuxi would be better for me or Suzhou.
thanks
Brent

Hi Brent

Congratulations on your opportunity, not a real estate agent here rather a fellow Canadian who is enjoying life in Suzhou. I think the most important fact regarding where you live is whether your company is providing you with a driver. If you have a driver arranged I would suggest living in SIP, good international schools and day care, two large grocery stores close by, western food markets and a huge expat community.There are also fitness centers out here but I know some of the complexes have fitness rooms included for tenants. We live in a complex called the Lakeside which is very close to just about everything you need, Horizon is also a beautiful complex. The Lakeside is a small complex and Horizon is a very large complex, we come from smalll town Canada so far me the less busy sparsley populated Lakeside was the more comfortable spot, however Horizon has many pluses, on site shopping being the biggest one. There is also Landmark Complex where alot of expats live as well.SND is only very nice and there is an international school there as well but I think it only goes to grade 8 so depending on the age of your children may also be a good choice. I do believe that SND is a little cheaper for living as SIP prices tend to be a little inflated for western items. Nice villa compound there that advertises Canadian style homes. I think its called Regent on the Park, I would ask to be shown this complex as well when you do your look see.
I have only been to Wuxi once but have friends who explored living there before settling in Suzhou, the expat community in Wuxi is nowhere near the size of the one in Suzhou and consequently I don't think you would find the numbers of English speaking there near as high as what you find in SIP.
Hope this helps but if I can be of any use please feel free to e-mail me any questions at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Kim

Hi Kim:
Thanks for your reply, your comments have been realy helpful. My wife and I are happy to have made contact with someone who we can ask questions to and has gone through the transition we might. If you do not might we will take you up on your offer to e-mail you.
thanks
Brent

Hi, we are also Canadian,having been in Suzhou for more than 2 months, one month in SND and the rest in SIP. Hope we also can provide you some information. In order to decide where to live, i think you should take into consideration of many things: convenience for shopping, distance to kids' school, entertainments for kids and family, parking places, distance to work, people living around and so on. Since our kid's school and our work are both in SIP, it is very inconvenient and time-consuming to go through the city every day, also the school bus is too early for kids, we moved to Horizon Resort in SIP. There are many choices for housing, apartment, townhouse or single house. You can determine based on your kids' age, financial situation and personal taste. It is better to find a place that your kids can find friends and your wife can enjoy the life easily (assuming she is stay-at-home mum).If you don't want to sell your house in Canada, don't purchase too much in Canada and ship here, since a lot of stuff is much cheaper here than there. FYI, there is no ice-skating/skiing place here. If you want more info about kid's life, feel free to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Hi,my friend:
I am Landy,the real estate agent in suzhou,working in the agency named"Relocate China (Suzhou)Realty CO,."I live and work in SIP(Suzhou Industrial Park).I have read ur words and some of ur canadian friend's kindly reply.I do think the Canadian friend is quite nice and helpful.But if u really want to relocate urself in Suzhou or say,SIP.U may need my help.Cause i am a local agent,its more easier for me to deal with the landlords here.The relocation service that we do for expats here is free of charge,no commission.So please feel free to ask any question about ur confussion of relocation yourselves here in Suzhou.
I would like to know you and help.Please feel free to contact me:" This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it "

No commission eh ? Free service eh ? Something is slightly awry here.

Brent - I agree 100% with the posts from your Canadian responders. I'd do a straw poll amongst fellow expats to see exactly what rents are involved. Don't get scammed. Do the "networking".

Whilst it may be tempting to use a local relocation service, I'd rather trust folks who have absolutely nothing to gain, and are more than willing to point out the "pros and cons", for free. They have been here a while and "know stuff", folks who don't conceal anything unpleasant and will provide emotional and practical support if needed which is critical in the first 3-4 months. No glossing over - just good advice.

Better to hit the ground running with a group of new friends for backup. It sounds condescending, I know. "What, an instant group of friends ?"

Yep. Since we're almost all in the same boat, expats in Suzhou are generous to a fault, especially Canadians.

SIP (Suzhou Industrial Park) is probably the most 'foreigner-friendly' area in Suzhou.

Don't underestimate the loyalty of freshly baked new-found friendships here. You'll find that their door is always open to borrow a cup of sugar - and offer a shoulder to cry on - in those moments.

Welcome to Suzhou !

Aussie Zak