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Inbal
Newbie
Joined: Sep 10, 2007
Posts: 2
Status: Offline
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 Posted:
Sep 10, 2007 - 10:17 PM |
 
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| Post subject: Relocation to Suzhou-help needed |
Hi
My name is Inbal
My husband got a job offer in Suzhou and we are considering it.
I'll be grateful if you could assist us:
- We intend to live in the SIP Industrial park, do you know the place?, How is it?
- How is Suzhou for a westerner? (restaurants, going out, Living...)
- How is the social life?
- What is the cost of living in Suzhou?
Thanks a lot
Inbal  |
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jo_girl
Talker
Joined: Mar 05, 2007
Posts: 83
Status: Offline
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Sep 10, 2007 - 10:54 PM |
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My husband relocated to Suzhou some months ago. I stayed in Shanghai as I've got a job here and we only see each other on the wknds. I find Suzhou IP OK, but a little bit boring. There is everything u can wish for in terms of western restos and grocery stores, but the IP doesn't have any nice Chinese feel to it, and also, there are just so many expats!! Traffic in suzhou is better of course, and prices are generally a bit lower (taxis start at 10 and not 11 like in Shanghai... just to mention one example) I enjoy myself at his flat every once and a while although we are both happy that we also have a flat in Shanghai as we prefer this place. But if you are looking for a western-like, no-complications life, the Suzhou IP is an ideal choice. |
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jo_girl
Talker
Joined: Mar 05, 2007
Posts: 83
Status: Offline
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Sep 10, 2007 - 10:56 PM |
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Just to make things clear: i am not saying a lot of expats are bad, I just prefer living around Chinese people as I then can use my Chinese. In Suzhou IP all you hear in English. |
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Pegasus333
Barker
Joined: June 15, 2006
Posts: 141
Status: Offline
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Sep 11, 2007 - 12:11 AM |
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I find Suzhou at the other end of the spectrum from Shanghai. In Suzhou, you won't get to hear the blaring horns from morn to night. It is peaceful and quiet. The view is fantastic. In the SIP, each part of the place has a special characteristic. The food is safer than Shanghai and cheaper. The service is much better than in Shanghai. Suzhou has a very romantic feel, especially at night. The numerous lakes are a must to visit. Also the gardens are beautiful though many of them now charge a fee for entry. All in all, you are going to a heavenly place. The best places to go will not be with tour agencies but get a local to bring you to those places. Taihu lake was very nice, you can take your dinner onboard a ship-like restaurant with the freshest catch. But now I hear there is this pollution thing so not too sure now whether it is the same. I was there in 2005 and had hairy crabs in YangCheng Hu as well. |
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rabbit51
Talker
Joined: Sep 29, 2003
Posts: 100
Status: Offline
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Sep 11, 2007 - 08:08 AM |
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I've lived in Suzhou SIP for over a year and what I can tell is this:
- SIP is nice and beautiful, depends on where you live, if it's close to amenities, then there will be lot of old buildings surrounding it, if it's in the east of lake, then you'll have to take bus/taxi for shopping
- the service charges charged by the government agencies are not proportional to its amount (in other words, they charge you fees and do not provide services), example: my mom had to apply for visa extension, she gave all her documentation over the visa office counter and was told that the passport will be sent back to her home, she was so happy thinking that the service is great, local government care about applicant's work, but when she received her passport back, there were 42RMB of delivery charge (EMS only charges 21RMB to deliver to anywhere in China, and in the same city they charge you 42RMB!!!! This is worse than arm robbery. Another example: phone charge, monthly phone charge is 20RMB, but if you want to have ADSL, it's mandatory to have call display and ring tone service, in my case my building uses fiber optic, therefore no phone line is required, but you still need to install a phone line because the broadband charge is TIED UP to a phone line!!!! and so on... I know those charges are peanut for us foreigners, what I'm saying is there's not services, they charge you and does not provide service!!! I was so fed up with government exploration and hidden charges that I left. In Shanghai at least it was all open, they tell you how much is the charge and what's for, in Suzhou they just tell you part of it. I saw once a Taiwanese was discussing with a China Telco attendant, he had deposited 500RMB for phone charges, and in 2-3 months, the balance was over, then he wanted to find out how, and the attendant was saying that he was using the phone to call Taiwan, and the man said his phone does not have international call feature, and he has few friends in Suzhou,... so watch out, China Telco in Suzhou steal the money from your account. Actually it happened to me too, I signed up with a no-monthly charge fee (there's no monthly charge but the call cost per minute is higher), and I didn't make that many calls during the month, I use mostly Skype to talk to my friends oversea, and at the end of the month, the charge was over ~20% what I estimated, the for the next few months I start control of my calls, and I went to China Telco demanding they show me the numbers that I called, after a couple of weeks the statement showed up (I never expected them to show me the real one, as I suspect them have "cooked" the statement), after that incident, my monthly phone charges dropped by 20%!!! So watch out, I wouldn't live there if I'm not working there.
Inbal: if your husband will be working for an IT service company, I have a recommendation of one company which I don't recommend, if you want to know more, pm me. |
_________________
Einstein: “A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.” |
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jeannie5
Raver
Joined: Aug 21, 2007
Posts: 428
Status: Offline
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Sep 11, 2007 - 10:58 AM |
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if u know how singapore surroundings is like..it's exactly how it is.we got an apartment facing the central park. not much night-life,though there's a few pubs expats do frequent..but dining outside is not a problem,as it has tons of restaurants around.SIP close to shanghai, so u can still go ...less than an hr/an hr ride(depending the traffic/which part of shanghai). |
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bleucheese
Veejay
Joined: Aug 01, 2003
Posts: 1993
Location: this side of the tracks
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Sep 11, 2007 - 11:21 AM |
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quiet.
clean.
very little nightlife.
great for families- not a good option if you are city people.
awful restaurant scene.
rent is cheaper than shanghai and there is little else to spend your money on.
i spend most weekdays in suzhou, every weekend in shanghai. |
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