Worst Places to Work?

This is an article I stumbled across in Business Week magazine. They ranked Suzhou as #14 in their worst places to work for expats.

A bit harsh, I think, although I am certainly glad to know we rank better than Lagos, Nigeria and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The magazine knocks Suzhou for "pollution and the limited opportunities for culture and recreation". I guess I can recognize their point in some ways. This certainly isn't the most cosmopolitan of cities, and I know that some of the younger expats here have been frustrated with the "sleepy small town" environment.

The irony of that, of course, is that it is a city of six million people. That might sound like a lot, as it makes Suzhou larger than Phoenix, Philadelphia, or Dallas. However, in China, even a city this big does not support a middle-class population large enough to have the range of entertainment, cultural events, and restaurants that one would find in similarly sized American or European city.

For those things, one really does need to live in Shanghai, and I can tell you that the contrast between Shanghai and Suzhou is huge. For us, however, Suzhou has really fit the bill nicely. We have found it to be a great family environment.

And we just got a Burger King. I suppose that is a plus.....