Finding a place to live in Wuxi.

Hey Ya'll! 

Finding a place to live is probably the top concern in moving to a new country. I wasn't so sure how it would work out, but Tractor Man did a GREAT job! I wasn't able to come over at all before we moved  to Wuxi since I was pregnant at the time, so he had to do it all and I personally think he did great and I tell him this often. 

In finding an apartment you normally have to go through a rental agency. Most companies on "look and see" trips will set you up with a relocation company that will get you set up with an agent to take you around to look at places that fit your needs. 

Before this time you want to think of things that you want and/or need in a place to live. This will help the agent help you find the right fit for you. So here are a few things to think about.

1. How many people are in your family and how many bedrooms will you need?
2. Do you want a yard or would you prefer an upper floor apartment?
3. Do you want to live downtown or away from the city?
4. Do you want to live close to your job (or spouse's job) or are you ok with having to drive?
5. Do you want an apartment or a stand alone house?
6. Do you want to leave near expats or are you alright with being farther away?
7. Do you prefer an apartment within walking distance to most things or are you ok being further out?


Once you find your apartment and are working on negotiations with the rental agent/landlord, you need to know what you are going to ask for. Here in China some of the things that we take for granted in America are not common here, so you need to make your requests known. This is a list of some of the things that we asked for.

1. Western style, large refrigerator.
2. Oven (specify that you want something other than a toaster oven)
3. Clothes Dryer
4. International TV
5. Western style mattress

This is not an all inclusive list by any means, but more of a start to get you thinking. Each situation is different. Enjoy the move! Can't wait to have you here in Wuxi!

Thanks ya'll,

Belle

Chang Jiang Guo Ji Ya Yuan - Expat Living at its finest

Hey Ya'll! 

I'm a little biased I know since Tractor Man, Pickle and I live here, but I wanted to share our apartment complex with you. There are MANY different complexes in our area that are great for expats and there will be other posts on those places coming soon. But for now, let me share our home with you! 

Welcome to Chang Jiang International Gardens 2. 

中国无锡市新区长江北路o41号。邮编：214028. 

Located in New District on Chang Jiang North Road, we are close to so much. We have two grocery stores within walking distance or an easy taxi ride, lots of great restaurants, playgrounds and a great veggie mart close by. There are quite a few expats in our complex which I love! We have an amazing community that gets together quite often and help each other out as needed. 

One of my absolute favorite things about our complex are the guards. They do a wonderful job and are always extremely helpful and friendly. They remember faces well, even though they do not speak a lot of English. Once, I had a guard see me struggling to bring in my groceries and he came and carried them to my apartment for me. 

Our complex is made up of tall and short buildings that range from 8 floors to 27 floors.

 We live on the first floor and have a basement and a small back yard. Most of the apartments in our complex are only one level and have 3 bedrooms. 

Here is a small view of my apartment. We brought all of our own furniture with us, so the furnishings are not a typical Chinese apartment but you can see some of the rooms. 

Kitchen

My pantry area

Pantry area - other view

Second bedroom

Dining Room

Closet area in the master bedroom

Master bedroom

Our upstairs living room. 

One of our 3 bathrooms. 

We have a small backyard that Pickle loves to play in when the weather is nice. 

Our laundry room is outside. 

The entrance to our building. They have stairs and a ramp for easy access. 

The maintenance team here does a great job of keeping things clean and neat. Granted, you do need to keep in mind that we live in China and things are not always "normal" in the way things are done, but things are always neat. 

Fish pond in front of my building. 

View of our complex. 

Walkway to the street. 

Our complex also has a small playground for kids which in the spring and fall is a wonderful place to play! We are out there quite often when we don't have other plans. 

We would love to have you come and join us here in Chang Jiang Guo Ji Ya Yuan! 

Thanks ya'll, 

Belle

Home sweet....boxspring

I can recall walking into our furnished apartment for the first time. Still jet lagged from our flight two days earlier, I was in a bit of a daze, but I can recall the gut dropping feeling I had as we opened the door to our new "home". Sure, I had seen pictures of it via email, but having never been inside before, I was expecting the worst.

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised.

Everything was brand spankin new. Some of the furniture wasn't really "our" style, but at least it was new. No former tenant smells to have to stomach. We made a trip to IKEA Wuxi within our first 24 hours and purchased a baby cot, changing table and linens. Across from IKEA was a METRO superstore, so we bought pots and pans there and were also able to stock our refrigerator with many familiar goods.

We got home, assembled the baby cot so our son could sleep, then dressed our bed in the new linens we purchased.

After a long day of unloading, unwrapping and unpacking, we couldn't wait to get a good night's sleep under our new plush sheets.

...and that's when we learned the difference between a western-style mattress and a Chinese mattress.

As we climb into bed, I whisper to BG, "I think they forgot a mattress. I'm pretty sure we are sleeping on the boxspring."

BG answers, "Welcome to China."

We have lived with the boxspring-esque mattress for quite some time now, and we both have perpetually sore necks and backs. Our lease is up for renewal next month, so we have negotiated with the owner to buy us a western mattress in exchange for re-newing.

I think that's a fair trade, and am counting the days until we can sleep like babies on a nice cushiony mattress again.

-Elle Lay

Packing List for Wuxi, China - Moving with a Sea Shipment

Hey Ya'll! 

The Real Wuxi Expat Housewives have put our experiences together and put a list together of things that we either didn’t bring enough of, or didn’t know we would need when we arrived and want to make it easier on you as you move. This post will deal with those of you blessed to have a sea shipment where you can pack more with you. 

Tractor Man’s company provided a sea shipment and an air shipment for us coming over. But, with a newborn and thinking, “Everything is made in China, so I’m sure I can get what I need there”, I ended up asking my mother to ship quite a bit of stuff to me during my first year in China. 

One thing to remember though, this list does not apply to everyone. This is more to get you thinking of things that are easy to pack and will (in my humble opinion) make life a little easier. Also, as you are packing, think of what kind of apartment space you have and how much space you will have to store things. If you plan to make trips home then you can space out what you bring to when you need it. 

You can find quite a bit of stuff here, but a lot of it is quite a bit more expensive than in the US. 

Regular Packing:

Q-tips

    ***you can buy them here but they (again in my opinion) are not as good of a quality as the ones you can buy in the US. Tractor Man stocks up for me every time he goes back. 

Deodorant

     ***PLEASE pack...you really can’t find this here at all. I have found 2 different types but they are tiny bottles and not at all what I’m used to. We probably have enough in our storage to last 2 more years. Ha! 

Shave Gel

    ***maybe I’m just a shave gel snob (probably....) but I much prefer the gel to the foam. Tractor Man doesn’t mind the foam so that is what I buy for him and use when I run out of my gel. Plus they don’t have women’s shave gel over here. The one type of gel that you can find is Gillette, but one can is $8.00. So take that under consideration as well.  

Razors (women and men)

   ***Especially women’s razors. The women here do not shave as much so the options are very limited in this area. 

Tampons

    ***so far the only type of tampon we have seen here is the OB brand and in very small boxes (6pk). 

Shampoo - if you have oily hair

      ***There is quite a large selection of shampoos and conditioners here, but my hair type is vastly different from the local Chinese so it didn’t work for me. Had I known (or even thought) about this in advance I would have packed more. 

Plenty of new underwear (panties & bras)

Floss

Toothpaste 

     ***Elle Lay was told before she moved to stay away from toothpaste here. I did not know that so Tractor Man and I have been buying Crest Pro Health here and it has been fine. So take this into consideration and decide what you think is best. 

Medicine

   ***Even if you don’t normally use a lot of medicine its better to stock up and have it. Some of my suggestions are: Pepto Bismol, Advil, Children’s meds (Tylenol, Advil, etc), Cold Medicine, Neosporin, Hydrogen Peroxide, Cold Sore Medicine, Flu medicine, Any prescriptions you have, and Vitamins. 
                ******A side note on this (there is another post just on this topic) but now it is becoming illegal to ship medicines in to the country by packages, so you want to bring as much with you as you can that you will need. 

Aluminium Foil
   ***Again, you can find this here in China, but in smaller rolls. If you can find the larger rolls on sale in the states, it would be easy to pack. 

Wax Paper
   ***The only place I have seen this here is in Shanghai at the foreign goods store and Tractor Man about has a heart attack when he sees the price on it. Ha! So if you are  a lover of wax paper as I am, I suggest packing it. 

Pam Cooking Spray
   ***This would need to be packed in a suitcase since from everything we have ever been told, you can't put aerosol cans in any shipment. 

Paper Plates 
  ***This is something for sure you can find here, but if you have a sea shipment coming and have extra space, pack them. It will make your life easier and you won't have to shop for them for awhile. Plus they are much cheaper in the states and you can buy them in a big pack there. 

Paper Towels
  ***Same as paper plates, but in the states they are a much better quality. 

Napkins
  ***Napkins like we know in the states are not so easy to find here, so if you have space pack some of your favorites!  

Packing for Babies & Toddlers: 

Car Seats for all stages that you will be in China

    ***Granted, it is not required to use car seats here, but I still put my kid in one for long trips with our driver. You can buy car seats here, but again they are just way more expensive. So if you have the shipping space, plan for it and pack it. 

Walking Stroller

    ***There are a lot of great places to walk around Wuxi, but the ground is not always even and you have to go up stairs a lot as well. My personal opinion would be to get a stroller with big tires to make walking easier. 

Umbrella Stroller

    ***The small strollers are better for indoor walking and shopping where they block off the elevators and escalators. This type of stroller fits through there barriers where as my big stroller will not. 

Table Toppers 

Foldable Booster Seat

   ***This was something that I never even knew existed until I realized I needed something to take the restaurants. Most of the local places here either do not have high chairs or only have one. So if you go to dinner with another family with kids then one of you has to hold your kid. I bought a Brica Fold and Go and it folds flat and goes everywhere with me. (You can find the Brica Fold and Go on Amazon.com)

Clothing for all ages that you will be in China

   ***This was one of those times I was thinking, “I can buy that in China...its made there right?” But no...well...yes you can but you are going to pay quite a bit more for most things. So hit the sale racks and stock up as you can. My sweet mother is always shipping me the clothes that I go online and purchase. 

Bigger type toys 

   ***Again, just a money saving issue. 

Books

   ***The one store here in Wuxi where I could find great kids books in English closed down and I haven’t found another one yet. 

Boogie Wipes

  ***Great for colds. 

Shoes for different stages

  ***This is a tough one I know...how do you know what size their foot is going to be? We just guessed the last time we were home and bought shoes in the next 3 sizes according to the season. 

Baby & Toddler Snacks

   ***If you have space to pack some stuff with you do it. 

Baby & Toddler toothpaste

  ***I found this here at a new baby store today, but since I can't read what is in it I would still get mine from the states, but there is always that option. 

Food Type Items That Can be Packed: 

Ranch Seasoning

Taco Seasoning 

     ***This can be purchased here but is more expensive. They are in flat packages so they are easy to pack. 

Pudding Packets

Again, this list is just a guide to get you thinking. Take a day and go to Target (or your favorite place to shop) and look at things that you wouldn’t want to live without and make a list. Then as you know what type of shipping you will have you can buy and pack accordingly. As you start thinking through these things, let us know if you have questions. Can’t wait to hear from you. 

Thanks ya'll,

Belle