Amy:2 years ago we came from Holland to China. We decided to live at this compound because at that time more expats where living here, especially from my husband’s company. Also the agency didn’t show us houses in other areas. We choose to live here because we preferred a house with a garden to an apartment since we have 2 boys. Our children enjoy playing in the garden, we even have space for a trampoline. They also enjoy biking and playing around in the compound. The compound area is not so big, so they can explore on their own. Last year a lot of families moved away from the compound. A lot of houses are empty and definitely need renovation. At the moment lots of houses are under construction. We live among Chinese people. It’s hard for us to keep our house as warm as we were used in Holland. This was one of the issues we underestimated. Chinese people do not heat their houses in winter. They wear extra clothes! The compound has deteriorated. The facilities run down and not always operational. We have an outside swimming pool. But this year they didn’t open it. We have a car of our own and it’s very convenient to have if you live in this area. To go to HIS takes you about 25 min. with low traffic and also to go downtown Our children do not have any complaints at all. They really like our house and area. We very much enjoy the area where we live in. It’s not so noisy and there is a lot of nature. We often go for a hike or bike ride in the weekends. We live near the tea villages, nature is very beautiful. Close by is a small village, Zhuantang. I love to go there by bike or on feet. You really experience China here and I like that very much. You can buy everything there. ---[2014/8/23]
|