Suzhou Expat - The expatriate portal in China

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