Moving Over to Shenzhen

The best place to live for Expats is Shekou area.

Welcom to shenzhen,
and we have list all the international schools here: http://www.shenzhenparty.com/category/schools,
and yes, shenkouis the most expats area, and i also suggest Futian, it is the city centre, and i guss more and more expart live around this area now.

yes,shekou is your best choose.

it depends what you're looking for. when I first came to shenzhen I took a look at Shekou and didn't really like it. sure there are lots of western restaurants and bars...if that's what you're looking for. Personally I prefer OCT (Overseas Chinese Town) Nanshan. It's full of lovely parks and gardens...palm sheltered walking paths everywhere which is great for summer. the complex I live in has a huge pool and beautiful gardens surrounding it(plus kids play ground). The Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza, new Holiday Plaza shopping centre with Ole supermarket(everything you know and need here) , Ikea, Metro plus lots of local restaurants are nearby. There's a metro station which is handy. also a huge ice-skating rink and indoor snow slope...great for kids...and summer! I can be in Luohu in 20 minutes and get to Hong Kong by car or train very easily. Once you're in Shekou it's more difficult to get anywhere else....the traffic is terrible if you're trying to commute into the city.

Hi Jenv,

Thanks for your reply. I'm in the same situation as the original poster, but had already spotted Shekou vs OCT as the two places to be. I'm into convenience, but also a nice, semi-quiet residential area. Is OCT more expensive than Shekou or about the same? Do you know anything about the international schools in Shenzhen? I really want my son to go to a bilingual school and have spotted the Sino-Canada School. Wondering what else is out there (have seen Shekou International and QSI too).
Thanks for your help!
Katoli