Suzhou - part time work and rates/tax - and social life!

Two points to keep the number of threads down.
1)
I'm being offered 100RMB an hour for part-time while I look for permanent work. But, they want to deduct tax!

What's the deal with tax deduction. Is it a lot? Should it happen, without a (formal) contract?

What's normal in Suzhou.

2) Where's the place to go to socialise? I'm in the new district, and married! We would like to connect with people, foreign and local.

Nsowon.

I don't remember the exact tax bite. Most schools didn't assess tax on hourly rates, and generally the salaries I received, full- or part-, were stated as after-tax. The only exception was when I was trying to operate as an independent contractor, and the taxes on that were 15-20%...AND came with a nightmare gauntlet of fees and bureau trips.

I can tell you, though, that 100/hour, even without tax, is ludicrous  for part-time work in Suzhou. Even the cheapest mills paid 120, and 150 wasn't too hard to find. If you were really good/lucky/ambitious, salaries of 200/hour and more were not out of the question.

What you've been offered is a bad deal, and I strongly suggest waving your naked hairy hindquarters at it unless you're truly desperate for income.

As for socializing...step one will be moving out of the Suzhou New District (SND). This is slowly changing, but the main social venues for Western expats are all downtown or out in the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) district...both of which are a long and either expensive or inconvenient haul from the SND. The SND has long been dominated by Japanese and Taiwanese expats, so if you really like karaoke, you're in luck...
There are  a lot of Italians out there, but you may find that karaoke is not so bad after all.

The main expat areas are Shiquan Jie (although a majority of the bars here are Chicken (prostitute) bars, so look carefully on entering. Especially if the wife is with you. ), where a lot of the teachers and more prosperous young Chinese tend to hang out. Special mention must be made of the Suzhou Bookworm, just behind Shiquan Jie, that has very quickly evolved into a major crossroads and cultural center, is a great place, and offers your best shot at a non-alcohol-centered evening. There's also places like Harry's Bar and the Southern Cross in the Guanqin Jie area that get a pretty mixed crowd. The SIP tends to have upscale places aimed at upscale people, with upscale prices to match.

There are lots of bars and restaurants in these areas, and quite a lot of foreigners to go to them, so it's mainly a matter of shopping around and finding the places where the prices and the crowds fit your tastes. Tom's Bar (not far from Shiquan Jie) is good if your plans include getting groped by drunk Germans; The Drunken Chef (not far from Guanqin Jie) is nice if you're into drunk British, auto racing   and astronomical prices; and there's even a French bar on Zhuhui Lu if you want to smoke Gauloises and be filled with ennui.

Get out and bar-hop, and you'll probably find some place where you feel comfortable. It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.

Thanks Raoul,

I thought it was low, as it is more expensive here.

I'll take your advice and bar-hop around and pick up local knowledge that way.

Thankfully, my wife is not interested in bar-hopping, she likes to let me do the dirty work* and make friends (Usually wives) from my initital network and expand from there.

Nsowon.
*By dirty work I mean...oh, go on - let your imagination run 

About those taxes....if memory serves me, you (or the school) should not have to begin paying taxes on your salary until you pass the 4,800RMB per month mark.  And even then, the % rate is quite reasonable.

I'd agree...but that salary is so bad even without being taxed, that ANY reduction in take-home pay is going to be significant...

Sorry, Nsowon, I didn't see this thread until now.

The social scene in the SND is evolving faster than I can keep up with it.  You're stuck an expensive cab ride away from downtown and the SIP, where the large social scenes are, but the laowai population vastly exceeds the number of venues out there, so you're likely to find foreigners sitting in all kinds of places.  I'll mention Morgans, a formerly Canadian-owned bar down near Bin He Lu: heading towards the stadium along Shi Shan Lu, you hook a right at the red sculpture traffic circle, then a left at the first light, then keep your eyes peeled for the first neon sign on your left.  Usually foreigners there, usually on the main floor, although it never hurts to pop upstairs for a peek.

Downtown, mostly ShiQuan Jie
The next place you want to check out is the Bookworm.  You'll find it listed in What's On in Suzhou and most of the other local magazines, complete with address to show the cabbie.  This is the center of my universe- if they installed a shower I'd move in.  It's an English library, bookstore, restaurant, cafe, and, after dark, semi-pub.  In the daytime you can order food (BITCHIN' Western breakfast), find a book on the shelves and lazily order a beverage as you peruse your book or surf wireless.  At dinnertime the place starts to fill; there's never a dead evening here.  For your first evening foray, come on Wednesday: they have live Western music, and at the moment it's really good.  They also have a live singer on Thursday through Saturday, but that's more irritating than anything.
One more thing: they order books.  Anything.  WARNING: I drop about 10 grand a year in this place, so show some restraint.

As to the rest of Shiquan Jie, the clothes shopping is great (but not cheap), the restaurants ditto.  The bars worth mentioning:  
West of the Feng Huang Jie intersection-
The Shamrock, run by our own Babala, whom you will adore   . On Sunday evenings from 6:45pm to about 8:30 we have a swing dancing class.  Both Lolochan and I are regulars, plus Babala of course, so if you want to meet/gaze from a distance/learn to dance/serve a warrant, come on down.
Jane's Pub if you like football and can endure the Filipino karaoke singer (worse, the "guests" butchering Beatles tunes);
Nowhere Bar;
East of Feng Huang
Pulp Fiction, again if you have a crowd with you (more football, plus foozball, and pool and darts upstairs);
The Drunken Clam, which plays tackle football- the proprietor's name is Sean, an awesome Canuck dude (forget his Chinese wife's name);
and at the end of the strip, Q's Club.  Haven't been in a while, but it's wonderfully laid out for live music, and the bands are laowai, not Filipino cover.

Harry's Bar is up Lindun Lu, almost all the way to the moat, but it's beautiful, draws a good crowd, and features the only Filipino band I respect in China; closer in is the Southern Cross, a "TexMex" restaurant with outstanding but nastily expensive food, and a steady supply of foreign traffic.  Dewaele, the Belgian fellow who runs it, is a helluva guy.

On to the SIP.  On the corner of Suhui Lu and Xinghai Jie is the largest Blue Marlin in town.  I'm not a big fan of German food, the prices aren't great, and the waitresses have a nasty habit of overestimating the number of pints you ordered.  That said, the bar side is usually hopping with quite friendly people; the German community here suffers IMO a worse reputation than they deserve.  The atmosphere here is really nice.
Next door is the best japanese restaurant in town: Sushi Boy (no English sign- the front is glowing yellow). 198 kwai for all you can eat and drink- yeah, you can get bitchin' sushi on Downtown Street near your home for way less, but this place is worth the journey.

Nearby, but with directions too difficult to try to lay out here, is the Black Mirage.  Misleading name: it's a lovely upstairs pub with friendly folk.

You have to explore Li Gong Di, on JinJi Lake.  UPscale architecture and view, upsale restaurants and bars, and, um, upscale prices.  I can't come close to an exhaustive list of venues, but here are some highlights:

Zapata's doubles as a restaurant.  They have a quiz night (although the Bookworm's is way better) on Thursdays, and Salsa dancing classes on Sundays (but come to swing dancing at Shamrock instead!).  They have a big spread in every mag in town that will tell you more.  Oh, the American DJ's name is Laura, and she's a gem.  

Garbo's is a beautiful pub tucked away a bit.  High end European beers and incredible food, prepared by your host Lars, an awesome Swedish dude.  His wife Jane is great too, but she only pops in occasionally.

If you're looking for a dance club, Scarlett is the biggest, nicest and cleanest.  NOT THE ONE ON SHI QUAN JIE!!!!  The word "shithole" would flatter it.  Stick to the Li Gong Di one.

That should get you started.  Remember, Suzhou is a warm town; you only need a few introductions, then your networking will mushroom.  It's just a matter of getting started.  

RE: work.  NEVER work for 100 kwai an hour unless it's out of pity.  Fulltime gigs generally work out to 110 per hour, but they're offering plane fare, visa, FEC and a residence permit.  P/T starts at 120 an hour, but only take that if they're offering a large block of classes within any given evening, close to where you live/ work beforehand.  

Private gigs?  A kid right off the plane is a scab for less than 150 an hour.  These are my favourite: you and your client eliminate the middleman (the school) and together set the schedule, curriculum and price.  
That latter one is key.  You are delivering a better product than a school possibly can: one on one (or, better yet, two) interaction.  And without the school taking their skim, both parties split the difference, and you get more while the client pays less.    It only remains to haggle.  Rule of thumb: 150 per hour, 200 if it's only one hour, out of your way (travel time and cost), or requires special preparation.  Since you're new, bend on that last one: you'll get the spinoff of your very own material, to reuse on other students in the future.

Wow!

Thanks for that. I've been to Morgans because it's nearby. Quiet, but nice nad the beer was good.

I'll print it and try to get out and about in a few days. The bookworm sounds good!

I need to get some cards printed, and start meeting folks!

Nsowon.

Great update, Con, thanks.

I didn't mention the Shamrock before...used to be the only place I'd go except the Bookworm. But I've heard so many conflicting rumors about it that I wasn't even sure if it's still open...if it is and Babala's there, it's a must-visit...