I have been living in a very comfortable apartment near public transport and shops for three months now and it has been great. I’ve lived here rent free and in return I have given English lessons to the families children, which I may add has been a little challenging at times. However the flat that I live in belongs to the grandmother of the family and she has been staying with the family over winter but now she wants to move back and I have to go. So this is a tad inconvenient to say the least, I mean I have gotten used to this lifestyle and now I have to move on which is a bit daunting when you live in a city like Suzhou, because it is a very expensive city for property. I think this place would be even more expensive than Sydney for a half decent property. Yes you can pick up cheap accommodation here in the older parts of town but to be honest you would not want to live there if you are a big softy foreigner like me.

I need a real toilet, not one of those holes in the floor to aim at first thing in the morning, besides I’m not sure how long my knees would last before they gave out on me which could be rather messy.

I like a nice shower, not a wet room like so many place are. I want to live in a place and to a standard that I am accustomed to. And before you criticise, why don’t you come here and live for a while. I know I wanted to come here to live like a local but I have my limits you know.

So wouldn’t you know it……….last night I met with Judy who said she would be able to offer me a room and I said that was great and we headed off to the south of Suzhou city. This area is near Shihu Lake, this is the place I went to the other day for a wee stroll, so it’s far away. However, later this month line 4 in the metro system opens and this place is about 5 mins walking distance away so it’s all good. We went to the top floor, I’m in the Penthouse for cryin’ out loud………can you believe it?, can I believe it?

This is a two story 3 bedroom large apartment and it is lovely and the room on offer is upstairs. I have my room and an en-suite to boot and I can walk out and have breakfast on the balcony, although you can’t see much at the moment because of the low cloud and inclement weather, but I’m on the top floor over looking the city and of course looking down on the peasants below. Pictures to follow when I actually move in 🙂