The short version
Sukolilo is an eastern Surabaya district shaped by education, student life and the traffic of a large working city. It is practical for people attached to the campus side of town, but it is not a polished enclave and its broad name contains very different streets.
The campus changes the rhythm
Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember’s main campus is in Sukolilo, so the area carries the everyday ecology of a major university: students, boarding houses, food stalls, services and busy movements at the beginning and end of the day. That makes some parts lively and convenient, particularly for someone working or studying nearby, while the residential streets beyond the active corridors can feel much more ordinary.
The eastern position is a real advantage only if your destinations line up with it. The central city, the west-side estates and the airport side all mean road journeys. There is no urban rail network to simplify that calculation.
Living here
Sukolilo works well for an academic, student household or someone with regular business in the east. It rewards careful address selection: ask about parking, evening noise, drainage and the route to the main road, rather than treating proximity to a campus as a complete answer.
It is less natural for someone looking for the restaurant-and-hotel ambience of Tunjungan or the controlled facilities of Pakuwon. Its appeal is function, local services and a relatively direct relationship with the university districts.
Would I choose it?
For a campus-based routine, certainly worth seeing. For a general Surabaya move, I would compare it with Gubeng and the western developments before deciding. The area is useful, but its quality is unusually dependent on the individual street.