I’m a expat living in a third country and dual citizen of U.K. and South Africa and regularly spend time in both, plus where I live now.
Given the number of negative responses, you don’t need more tales of violence and woe. Yes terrible things happen. But also plenty of SA residents are never personally touched by violent crime. Thus far, touch wood, I fall into the latter category. How many near misses have I had? That I can’t tell, you but probably a few. Ask me how many near misses did I have in London? I’d give you the same answer.
I’m more interested in the moving half way around the world aspect of your question rather than the “where to” as most people who do this for the first time, me included, are woefully underprepared.
You might be better off asking the question, if I move to Cape Town for three years, what do I need to know?
To live well in South Africa, like the U.K. or anywhere, you need a fuck-off big package with relocation costs AND repatriation costs included.
I don’t know what level the working person is on, but you usually have to be pretty high up to be properly protected when you move.
Frequently, people lower down the ladder get less practical packages as the company’s know people will accept some trade offs for a change in location or the career bump.
A big “tell” is how big is the company that is moving you and how often do they move people like this? If the answer is small, and not so often, in my experience the HR people putting these package’s together really don’t have a practical clue of what a move like this entails. That said, small companies can be good, big companies can be bad, but what vibe are you getting from the employer?
Is it an employer you know and trust or is it a new job? Is it a SA employer or is it an international one?