Moving to suzhou need Advice.

Hello raymerjacque,

welcome to Expat.com.

I would suggest that you take a look a the cost of living  thread below :

Can I live on USD$2000 a month in Suzhou?

Thank you,
Gavind

Thank you, that was very helpful

Well, i have booked my flight, I am leaving South Africa 28 may and arriving in Shanghai on 29May. I assume the school will take a few days to get my flat ready before they ship me off to Suzhou. But after many months of struggling to get a Visa my journey is finally happening

Bring food and spices  (transportable, non-perishable) with you that you enjoy since Suzhou has a limited supply of western food.  To get western food you will need to go to Shanghai.  Good quality clothes are also tough depending on the size .  If you are a large or bigger non-Asian male you will find it a challenge to find the right sizes outside Shanghai.  Even in Shanghai it can be tough at times. 

To watch YouTube or access Facebook you will need a VPN provider.  Strong VPN is good and has not been effected by the recent "Great Wall" campaigne by the government to block users from outside access.  There are several VPN providers which get blocked for large periods of time so make sure you ask others who use VPN which ones are managing to stay alive. 

Cost of living - to save money at your level of income you will need to live local as much as possible.  This means eating local and keeping utility costs down.  Summers are very hot and humid and electricity is our highest priced utility.  So you'll need a good fan to reduce the use of the AC.  Winters are frosty and heaters are necessary which put a strain on the budget.  The electricity use and staying comfortable will be a challenge. 

Food and Health Eating western will cost more obviously, but for some eating Chinese is the cause of health problems.  They use a lot of salt and MSG in preparations.  If you have food allergies you need to be very careful in eating out.  The Chinese have no concept of allergies, food or Otherwise so be careful if you have these issues.  Bring cold and flu medication we have been here 11 years and have never found good products for this issue.  Make sure you get your shots.  Yellow fever, typhoid, Hep A and B are necessary no matter what they say in the Internet.  A friend of mine got Typhoid in Shanghai but the Chinese doctor would not admit to him it was typhoid. 

Hope you have a good trip and great experience in China.

Hi raymerjacque,

Welcome to China!

My name is Gary and i work for a consulting company in Shanghai, the city very close to Suzhou. i understand how it feel when you move to a new place, but you will be just fine. Honestly i have only been to Suzhou once, it is a really beautiful city and it is famous in China because of the scenery.

It is going to be a unforgettable experience in your life.

Hello raymerjacque,

Do update us when you reach there.


Regards,
Gavind.

Thank you for all the advice guys. I am so excited, really cant wait to get there. I leave thursday morning and my flight is 21 hours, so i will land in Shanghai early friday morning...

I am 1.75m tall, and average build, weigh around 82kg, so i wear size Medium to large shirt, 32 pants... So not fat at all, so clothes i don't think will be an issue to find. As for foods, I am not allergic to anything far as i know. A friend advised me to buy a rice cooker, and make my own food ( Rice, veggies and chicken ) or noodles veggies and chicken etc etc. He said to stay away from meat if i can help it and stick to chicken and fish. So i will most likely be doing that. I have a VPN ( vpnmaster ) and it is setup on my phone and laptop, so i should be fine with that.

I think one of the first things i need to do once i get settled in is find a tutor that is not to expensive and learn to speak and read chinese...  If anyone knows where a tutor that is not overpriced is in suzhou i would greatly appreciate it.

Another thing I will need to ask is how i go about getting a internet connection up and running once i moved into the apartment ? I have a Linux project that i work on the side line and it brings in extra cash, so internet connection is going to be the VERY first thing i need to sort out once i get into my own place, any advice on this is greatly appreciated. I read that an 8mbps uncapped is the standard in china now ? how many rmb is it for such a connection and how do i get it connected ?

I am sure i will have MANY more questions to ask once i actually get to china, thank you all for the great advice

I assume you will stay in a hotel in Shanghai a few days so the hotel will register you with the police.
But when you arrive in Suzhou, you must within a day (or two) bring your passport and the address of where you are staying (in Chinese) and register at your local police station (for a registration form of temporary residence). This is required in China. Some do not do this (and may happily tell you it is not required) but they risk a fine.
Suzhou is excellent (apart from the air quality) for street running as it is flat.
Bus system is excellent so get your transportation card asap. Metro is new and efficient but doesn't have widespread coverage.
There are large supermarkets that carry a mix of Western and Chinese goods. (Auchan is good. Carrefour soso). There is also Metro supermarket which has quite a few Western foods (requires membership card).
Beer in supermarket is very cheap.
Get a local Sim card asap and also asap the mobile number of a colleague who speaks both Mandarin and English so that you can call them when you have an emergency

ok, thnx.

Another thing I will need to ask is how i go about getting a internet connection up and running once i moved into the apartment ? I have a Linux project that i work on the side line and it brings in extra cash, so internet connection is going to be the VERY first thing i need to sort out once i get into my own place, any advice on this is greatly appreciated. I read that an 8mbps uncapped is the standard in china now ? how many rmb is it for such a connection and how do i get it connected ?

Hello raymerjacque,

I would suggest that you take a look in our guide section refer to the link below for more precision.

>  Internet in China

Regards,
Gavind.