hi there (howzit Indaba?!)
We debated this on quite a recent thread - have a search and you'll see, it's got quite a range of opinions so may help...
As I said before, crime is a serious issue and affects most people here one way or another on a daily basis. I feel I'm constantly on alert, sleep with alarm on, everything shut (even in summer, despite living in security clusterin a "good" area.).It depends on how tolerant you feel you would be, how you weigh up the likely risks etc v "chance of a lifetime" to come and live here..
The other factor is financial - what package would you get? Would it include education/medical and air expenses?? SA is much much more expensive than the UK for food-shopping, utility bills, clothes, toys, books, car rental or purchase. If your kids are in a state school now, you'd have to budget to pay upwards of £2.5k per child per year in state school fees, nothing is free! You may also have to factor in the loss of a second income - it is hard, nigh on impossible to get a work visa as an accompanying spouse, at least in the first couple of years..
OTOH SA is much cheaper for nanny-type childcare so for pre-school kids with both parents working, you'd make a significant saving. Petrol is also much cheaper, as is eating out.
Other factors for me - how flexible are your kids? I think younger kids are so much more adaptable than older ones. Also, how much do you enjoy going to the theatre/concerts/exhibtions etc? There is stuff on here, and some good stuff but there's much much less of it and it seems much less popular partly because its such an outdoor life...Again, if you love cycling/running/hiking/surfing, you'll love it here.
In retrospect, I really don't know if I'd have come here knowing what I know now, losing my job, independence and a hell of a lot of money, it cost so much more than we had been told by dh's company..I think it is a fantastic place for holidays, maybe much better that way than to actually live here.
However, many people, like Indaba, love it so obviously it depends!
HTH