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Original poster

Would you move to Cape Town?

381 replies

ZarZarGabor · 15/08/2023 17:56

Sorry posting here for traffic.

A good job opportunity has come up to move to Cape Town with work, likely for 3 years or so. We have one pre-school age child and are aware childcare options there are more affordable.

We have spent some time there before and so are alive to some of the issues the country faces including crime, load shedding and bureaucracy. However we still absolutely love the place and want an adventure.

Would be grateful to hear the views of people who have direct experience living there, especially with a young child.

I know lots of people will have a “friend of a friend” who has had bad experiences in South Africa, but I’d really like to hear from people who actually live or have lived there about day to day life for an expat and the sorts of considerations we might have forgotten to factor into (we have already considered visas, healthcare, security, costly mobile phone data etc).

thanks for any advice.

OP posts:
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7
DuesToTheDirt · 15/08/2023 20:54

@OhwhyOY That said they all felt for a short time (eg 2-3 years) it was a great experience.

What was so great? It seems hard to imagine anything that could counteract the horrendous crimes and restrictive lifestyle that people are reporting.

Crikeyalmighty · 15/08/2023 20:54

Our friends have just come back from South Africa (Durban area ) after 12 years and say the whole of SA is a nightmare. Power constantly going off- they had ram raiders on the development they lived in and ended up with a gun and 2 large dogs-

Whammyyammy · 15/08/2023 20:54

No, because I actually enjoy being alive

Newjobformoremoney · 15/08/2023 20:55

I’m South African and yes I would move to Cape Town.
For balance, all my family live there. Even those whose family moved abroad “for a better life”. I’m the only one of thousand of cousins who live abroad.

namechangenacy · 15/08/2023 20:56

oakleaffy · 15/08/2023 20:50

South Africa and rape..
This device was invented there, rape is so prevalent.

A toothed device that only a doctor can remove- wonder if it actually works?

https://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/06/20/south.africa.female.condom/index.html

This has been around for a while. Sadly I don't believe it's proved as useful as many had hoped...

Totalwasteofpaper · 15/08/2023 20:56

@Citizenofearth great post....

oakleaffy · 15/08/2023 20:57

namechangenacy · 15/08/2023 20:56

This has been around for a while. Sadly I don't believe it's proved as useful as many had hoped...

Show quote history

I thought that...A man could easily kill the woman out of rage.

Newjobformoremoney · 15/08/2023 21:00

OP, you’re getting lots of stories of people “who know people who would never go back” not lots of personal experience on this thread. Someone who speaks about colleagues who left just as apartheid ended I wouldn’t listen to personally. If you want people who live there and will be honest with you give me a shout.
There is a lot of emotion for those who left, especially as South Africa finally found proper freedom for everyone who lived there.
It’s also good to note that there are many people moving back. I can pull out so stats if that’s helpful.

It definitely isn’t all doom and gloom, but you need to rise above the need for government services. Lots of solar etc.

JamSandle · 15/08/2023 21:01

It's not particularly safe if you're Caucasian.

Echio · 15/08/2023 21:03

I can't speak personally but a close friend has moved there (about 8 years now in total). She loves it because the lifestyle she can enjoy with the exchange rate is incredible compared with here - she can have all the cleaners, gardeners, beauty treatments etc she wants. (Whether that's what you want in life... who knows?)

The main thing she finds hard is the load shedding - she doesn't have her own generator and it fries the appliances and obviously there's times of year where AirCon is seriously needed.

She also finds there's limited culture that she can relate to.

Safety she isn't too bothered about - she's aware of dangerous areas but there are areas that are (apparently!) perfectly safe and she's just careful and doesn't get herself in vulnerable situations. She'll drive/taxi rather than walking etc. (She grew up in Harlesden which used to be a bit more rough round the edges so maybe a bigger tolerance than most?)

She has no family or friends other than those she's made there, so no real ties to keep her beyond being happy.

EnidSpyton · 15/08/2023 21:04

@Newjobformoremoney apartheid provided 'proper freedom for everyone who lived there'?

So the millions of Black people still living in dire poverty in shanty towns have freedom?

The hundreds of thousands of Black women paid a pittance to be the maids of white people, are they living in freedom?

What planet are you living on? Honestly?

It's the total lack of equality in South Africa that drives violent crime. To suggest anything otherwise is absurd.

Original poster
ZarZarGabor · 15/08/2023 21:05

@Citizenofearth thank you for your detailed and insightful post. We have both spent time across Africa and in Cape Town (beyond just holidays) so have some sense of what life is like but not what it is like on a more permanent basis. Luckily the employer is experienced in transfers across Africa and we will have good support and a good package.
I don’t want to minimise the terrible stories about crime that people are sharing, but equally keen to find out what people think weighs against that, as I have friends and family who live happily there so I was interested in getting a wider view and opinions.

OP posts:
choccytime · 15/08/2023 21:05

some adventure

namechangenacy · 15/08/2023 21:05

Citizenofearth · 15/08/2023 20:53

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?

I agree with you but I would counter one point and say that most South Africans (and I can only speak for myself personally and many of my friends living there now and here)

Our version of "violence" and most people from the uks version of "violence" are not the same. Not even in the neighbourhood Personally I find walking around London in the sketchy areas at night alone as a female doesn't even register on my danger scale.

But 100% about the companies size ect and everything else. Different strokes different folks ect.

Newjobformoremoney · 15/08/2023 21:07

You’ve totally misread my post @EnidSpyton i was talking about loads of people who left post apartheid who tell you horror stories.

Newjobformoremoney · 15/08/2023 21:08

Also @EnidSpyton are you always this aggressive?

DeeCee77 · 15/08/2023 21:10

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_homicide_rate

Almost 3000 deaths in Cape Town.

Dangerous countries (eg. Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, US) with high homicide rates, car jackings, racial division/housing areas defined by race etc., you need to keep your wits about you. Stray into the wrong area and you could be in big trouble.

List of cities by homicide rate - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_homicide_rate

JayAlfredPrufrock · 15/08/2023 21:10

My brother has lived in Joburg for 40 years. I visit every year. Love the place.

Agadontdontdont · 15/08/2023 21:12

@ZarZarGabor If you’re on Facebook I’ll pm a link. It’s a group for S Africans who have gone back or planning to go back. You’ll get a lot more helpful answers & people with first hand experience.

EnidSpyton · 15/08/2023 21:12

@Newjobformoremoney I haven't totally misread your post.

This is what you said:

'There is a lot of emotion for those who left, especially as South Africa finally found proper freedom for everyone who lived there.'

Please explain how I misread that statement?

And I'm not being aggressive. I'm just challenging what is an untrue statement about the reality of 'freedom' in South Africa post-apartheid.

Newjobformoremoney · 15/08/2023 21:13

@Agadontdontdont I’m part of that group!

JackyinaTracky · 15/08/2023 21:13

Nope. Grew up in joburg and along with everybody we knew who had an option to get out we left.

Atethehalloweenchocs · 15/08/2023 21:14

At one point in my small midlands town both my neighbours and a woman in dog training class had all moved from SA because of safety. One of them had a daughter move back last year - she loves it but it is a very expensive gated community, she loves the lifestyle, but my neighbour is very unhappy that she is over there.

FoodFann · 15/08/2023 21:14

I’ve been to SA and have friends there too. Absolutely not in a million years would I take my young child there. Not even for a holiday!

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