I guess I've lived in Suzhou long enough to "go native." ;-{)

Kunshan isn't really so bad. But I'd much, much rather be in either Suzhou or Shanghai.

Cost of living, as indicated, will indeed be a bit below Suzhou and well below Shanghai...but still WELL above those in most other Chinese cities. I consider 5-6K salaries to be awfully low anyway, and I think it'd be even more so in Kunshan.

And ditto...beware the Taiwainese. Not easy to work for, and the kids are a lot worse in the classroom than their mainland counterparts...who are often themselves bad enough.