Emigrating to South Africa

iamtheoneneo said:
do you own a shotgun? if not it might be time to get a license for one..
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Are you one of those idiots who reads and listens to the media and believes everything? :rolleyes:

On my last visit of five years to the UK - 80% of people I spoke to, believed we all lived in mud houses and Lions, etc roamed around. Seriously people....wake up and smell the roses!

Like someone said, if you go into real bad areas, like townships and up here in Johannesburg there is an area called, Hilbrow - you're going to get into trouble.

Same goes for UK - A lot of stories of people getting mugged, knifed and shot in bad areas.

I have been back here now for around 6 years and I have only ever encountered crime personally, once.

Grow up - and stop making stupid statements, you idiot. :rolleyes:
 
I know two people from South Africa.

The guy was shot at in the shoulder. The lady was taken hostage with a gun to her head.

I really really wouldn't recommend going there, full of danger, violence etc...
 
rossw said:
Weather :D, Quality of life, Traffic, Beaches, the people, Weather, big houses for cheap, Scenery, Wine and the Weather.

Obviously there are some downsides including crime (which is mostly limited to the townships and gang areas) and then the work issue, with BEE and AA making it difficult to find work, and then the pay sucks (but stuff is cheap here anyway).

Ive lived in Cape Town for half my life, and then in London for the other half. Strangely enough I experinced more crime in West London than in the Southern subs of Cape Town. I once stupidly left my back pack on the back seat of the car, some chop came along, smashed the window and took all my Uni text books :rolleyes: But that's all in 10 years.

Where were you for those 18 months?

Can't wait til i'm back, I absolutely hate it here
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If it's so bad here, by all means, please leave. There are too many people in London anyway.

I was living mainly in Johannesburg, but spent time down around Cape Town too.

Crime is in no way limited to townships. I know of someone who had their wallet taken at gunpoint and someone else who had their window smashed/ handbag stolen whilst they were in the car, both in Sandton. When I was there, there was also a shooting at the Melrose Arch Hotel (Near the Wanderers cricket stadium in Jo'burg) (Which I sometimes stayed in, and often used to dine in the restaurants in the complex), and my colleague's next door neighbour had her house burgled whilst she was held at gunpoint (Also near the Melrose Arch).

My experience of the weather in Cape Town was that it was like a moderately warmer version of here. Still cloudy/ windy a lot, but overall a bit warmer. The weather in Gauteng is excellent though.

The beaches are nice, but the sea around the Cape is FREEZING!!! Unless you are going up to Durban or somewhere else north, forget going in the actual sea!

Yes property is cheap, but wages are also very low, and as you state, employment is difficult. I also really hate the 'walled garden' that is certainly necessary.

Traffic is bad in Gauteng especially as there is no public transport to speak of really, and yes it's less severe around Cape Town (But I wouldn't call it 'good'), but you pretty much have to drive anyway. Luckily motoring isn't that expensive.

The people- Not really had any problems either here, nor there, but there is clearly a big problem between the blacks and the whites in ZA and that cannot be denied.

"but stuff is cheap here anyway"... By "stuff" you mean essentials. Any luxuries are certainly not cheaper than the UK. (Be it electronics, clothes, cars), and with wages what they are, makes them very expensive for the local working population.
 
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Jez said:
He is right then, that R219 is for 384k! :p Look at the price for a 10mbit connection, which wouldnt be considered to be great here - its R2500 per month!
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Also iBurst sucks. I had to use one of their 3G dongles when I was there and it's terrible.
 
Uncapped does not equal un-shaped either...

Anyway I grew up in Durban all my life and my family live in Cape Town now (for the past few years) and none of us have ever been directly involved in any serious crime. Sure, house breaking's here and there but luckily none of the life threatening stuff. We are lucky yes but there are many people out there with similar stories, probably on a par with the people spouting how rubbish it is.

I wish the OP luck. I would love nothing more than to move to Cape Town but retain the life style I have become accustomed to here in the UK.

Bes said:
"but stuff is cheap here anyway"... By "stuff" you mean essentials. Any luxuries are certainly not cheaper than the UK. (Be it electronics, clothes, cars), and with wages what they are, makes them very expensive for the local working population.
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I am always horrified at the cost of even essentials now. My dad and sister rattle off prices to me as if its the norm (which it is to them) but when I do some calculations and think about what they earn, it makes me sad :( This isn't for a new laptop or a pair of Ugg boots, this is to feed themselves and pay for water, electricity, petrol and healthcare.
 
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wow some very uninformed opinions in this thread!

Be wary of South Africans living in the UK who feel they have to bad mouth their own country as much as possible to justify the fact that they have left.

Yes there are crime issues in South Africa but ive been living in Johannesburg for over 2 years and not had any incidents, but they do happen. Also the crime here is mainly based around robberies and smash and grabs from cars. If you are fearful of people breaking into your house you can minimise the chances by living on say the 5th floor of a block of flats, this would significantly reduce the chances of someone robbing you etc etc

I love it here, so do the british indian girl and the aussie girl who i work with who have married safa's and moved here. Weathers great, quality of life fantastic and south africans are generally extremley friendly and warm people.

in regards to visa's it can be a pain (my initial 2 year intra company visa expires next week and i have to jump through a million hopes to get a new 5 year working visa). Generally you will need someone to help in the process and i can give you details of some i know. you will have to pay the guys that help you plus the department of home affairs will charge an admin fee (R1,520 for the admin fee)

you will also need police clearance from uk and south african police forces, medical exam and radiological report (chest xray) generally for a normal working visa application you will need an offer of employment but i believe there are ways around this.

Also i gather from my colleagues that if you marry a south african the process does become a lot easier, also as a uk passport holder you get a 90 day tourist visa on arrival in the country, but this limits you to what you are allowed to do (ie you cant get a bank account or work etc etc).

Overall i love SA, been having a great time here, and hope to continue living here for a while yet. There are definitely crime issues to take into account but its not as simple as saying if you move here you are gauranteed to be a victim. Cape Town is also a bit different to other areas of SA as its very touristy and has really the only succesful CBD (city centre) out of the major cities (ie i walk around cape town cbd at 3am in the morning with no hassle, i wouldnt do the same in down town jo'burg)

email in trust if you want any further info

enjoy!
 
i had my first summer time xmas last year. 28 degrees, shorts and flip flops, lying by the pool followed by full christmas roast, was strange eating the roast in that heat i must say!

Actually looking forward to a cold one in the UK this year :eek:
 
I think SA would be an amazing place to live if you have plenty of cash. There is the potential to have an amazing standard of living. The food and drink is to die for. The weather simply amazing. The golf courses are sublime plus you get a caddy for next to nothing. Need some decent glass in your car but thats it!
 
Bes said:
You're kidding! It's far more dangerous than even somewhere like Canning Town or Elephant & Castle in London.
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Canning Town isn't dangerous at all - OK it may have higher crime rate than suburbia, but other areas are worse! Like anywhere, don't walk around flashing an iphone/expensive watch/your wallet and you'll be fine
 
Bes said:
If it's so bad here, by all means, please leave. There are too many people in London anyway.
Next Month! :D
I was living mainly in Johannesburg, but spent time down around Cape Town too.

Crime is in no way limited to townships. I know of someone who had their wallet taken at gunpoint and someone else who had their window smashed/ handbag stolen whilst they were in the car, both in Sandton. When I was there, there was also a shooting at the Melrose Arch Hotel (Near the Wanderers cricket stadium in Jo'burg) (Which I sometimes stayed in, and often used to dine in the restaurants in the complex), and my colleague's next door neighbour had her house burgled whilst she was held at gunpoint (Also near the Melrose Arch).
Didn't say it was limited to the townships, i said mostly. Obviously there is crime outside of the townships which is higher than average but those massive crime rates you see are influenced mostly by crime and gang activity in the township areas.
My experience of the weather in Cape Town was that it was like a moderately warmer version of here. Still cloudy/ windy a lot, but overall a bit warmer. The weather in Gauteng is excellent though.
Yup, Gauteng weather is nice, love those thunderstorms! :D And I agree with the Cape being windy/cloudy but compared to the UK...
The beaches are nice, but the sea around the Cape is FREEZING!!! Unless you are going up to Durban or somewhere else north, forget going in the actual sea!
Spot on, the Atlantic is amazingly cold. Durbz is nice though although it can get very humid. Although you don't have to swim when at the beach, just enjoy the location.
Yes property is cheap, but wages are also very low, and as you state, employment is difficult. I also really hate the 'walled garden' that is certainly necessary.
Walled garden, different opinions I guess. I tend to like my privacy while hanging out by the pool
Traffic is bad in Gauteng especially as there is no public transport to speak of really, and yes it's less severe around Cape Town (But I wouldn't call it 'good'), but you pretty much have to drive anyway. Luckily motoring isn't that expensive.
Was more comparing the traffic to the traffic of London. Public transport is being developed though, Gauting now has the Rea Vaya BRT and Gautrain. Cape has the IRT system.
The people- Not really had any problems either here, nor there, but there is clearly a big problem between the blacks and the whites in ZA and that cannot be denied.
You're right about the racial issues, people however are generally friendly in SA
"but stuff is cheap here anyway"... By "stuff" you mean essentials. Any luxuries are certainly not cheaper than the UK. (Be it electronics, clothes, cars), and with wages what they are, makes them very expensive for the local working population.

Spot on there, essentials are what I meant. Houses, food, electricity, tax etc.. all very cheap. Technology can be double the price of that in the UK/US. Cars are expensive
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Thanks for replying :)
 
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