Joberg for 2 years with a 9 year old

[ilovetomatoes]

Any thoughts on moving to Joberg? I would be taking the lead career wise, husband looking for a job there locally. 2 kids age 9 and 4.

Bit concerned about the 9 year old mostly. Is it terrible to move him now for 2 years? He’s need to do the 11+ for his next school so would have to prep for that while we were there. Feel like I’m being a bit selfish but it’s a great job and hopefully it would be a wonderful experience for us all

I lived in Jo-burg for a while in my early 30s. And I've been to SA a fair few times. I love SA. But Jo-burg is a tough city to live in - I did feel quite fearful at times, there is a lot of crime (and people love to share their stories about being a victim of crime, which can be a bit scary). However, you would be in a gated community, your DC will be at private schools, I assume, and you will likely be living in a community like Sandton, which is incredibly affluent. But, there is so much poverty and so much obvious inequality in many other parts of the city. I would ask for a trip out for the whole family before you make a decision. And then you'll get a feel for what it's like. Plenty of ex-pats live in what are considered 'dangerous' countries, with their families, in comounds and benefit from the experience. If you do it, go in with your eyes open though and accept that you are going to have live in a much more vigilant state than you do in the UK.

I grew up in South Africa and I wouldn’t go and live in Joberg no matter how much you paid me.

And you need to think about the reality when people say “oh it’s perfectly safe, you just live in a compound with armed guards,” really? That’s the kind of normal you want? It’s like going on holiday to a violent country and saying “oh but we’re ok, we didn’t leave the hotel so were perfectly safe.” You’re not actually experiencing the area, you’re being kept away from it in fact by the reality of a secure compound and armed guards because of just how safe it is.

And do bear in mind that there is an awful lot of corruption in the police over there so I wouldn’t be so quick to assume that you’ll be kept safe by them.

Just don’t OP

An eleven year old should be able to find independence of sorts. Walking to the shops in their own. Time with friends.

I’m so sad what has happened in SA but why would you want to

Not a chance!
We went to SA for our honeymoon, in the joberg airport we were told to walk directly and quickly to the international terminal from domestic and don't walk near the road - also told by people we met in Zambia who lived in Joberg that murder, kidnap, rape and worse don't make it tonthe papers as it's so rife - that was 15 years ago
I wouldn't want to go if it were just me,let alone with my children

It might be you, in which case this addition is pointless, but an expat Facebook group has just had someone ask about Jo'burg, and the answers are saying load shedding and water shedding are frustrating (basically the water and/or elec get cut off frequently to prevent over demand).

My family is from ZA. I wouldn’t take a job in Joburg or Capetown just by how restricted your life becomes because of the horrific crime - my aunt got shot in the head during a carjacking - luckily she survived but the whole thing was planned by the driver who her company had employed to keep her safe.

Having said that I probably would consider a job in Durban or PE provided you are being paid extra to buy the extra security you would need at home and while travelling.

@DancesWithDaffodils thanks. I lived in a country in Asia that had frequent electricity cuts. We had a backup generator in our house but it was a massive pain.

Hi OP. I’m quite late to this thread, but just in case you are still deliberating...

I lived in Joburg for 3 years 2008-2011, so a bit out of date now. I enjoyed it a lot. Both living in Joburg and travel in the region. I didn’t have kids back then, but lots of my friends did. They enjoyed a lot of sports, outdoor activities and all seemed to have good social lives.

It sounds a bit wanky, but if you can afford an ‘expat style’ life, it helps a lot. We lived in Fourways. Basically compound city. Our estate was huge with a golf course, club house, tennis courts, pools etc. There was a well regarded (by my parent friends) school right at the gate of the estate. Kind of between three big estates. It’s called Dainfern College. There was a Crawford school nearish too as well as the American International School.

Lots of people had their kids in South African private schools. They seemed more academically rigorous and even sportier than the international schools. I don’t think it will be hard to find good schools.

There are loads of malls around with safe shopping and dining. Also lots of gyms. We also lived near some nature areas and a dog park and we didn’t feel too constrained. I had friends in smaller compounds in other parts of the city and they were nice too. I would have been nervous about a stand-alone house, but I know people who live in them and are happy to do so.

Biggest (non crime) problem is traffic so I would try to triangulate work, school, home carefully.

Your OH might struggle to find work though. There were quite strict rules about employment when I was there. I would look into remote opportunities if possible or further study/volunteer work if that’s financially viable for your family.

Thank you. Yes still under consideration so I appreciate the input. If I get the job, I think I will take it. I’ve done a lot of research and on balance I think we could make it work. But 50/50 I will get the job, it’s very competitive.