Thinking of emmigrating to South Africa.......am I mad?
Thinking of emmigrating to South Africa.......am I mad?
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Discussion

messe

Original Poster:

19 posts

220 months

Monday 14th July 2008
quotequote all

Being lured by the concept of emmigrating to South Africa (Western Cape area) - house prices look incredible, low cost of living, good vineyards nearby and good weather.

Am I mad?

absolutely

3,168 posts

222 months

Monday 14th July 2008
quotequote all
Yes you are mad! Stockpile guns from the 1st day.

Jasandjules

72,619 posts

259 months

Monday 14th July 2008
quotequote all
Mad-ish.

SwissCamel

352 posts

222 months

Monday 14th July 2008
quotequote all
It's probably only going to get worse there. I'd take a hint from the wave after wave of white South Africans emigrating over here. If it's for a few years for a good salary then I'd maybe do it. If it's a permanent thing then I wouldn't. Personally.

Fittster

20,120 posts

243 months

Monday 14th July 2008
quotequote all
Do you intend to buy property/assets in South Africa?

I'd love to work in South Africa but I'd want to be able to get out with my money at very short notice.

thehawk

9,335 posts

237 months

Monday 14th July 2008
quotequote all
EVERY South African I know would love to move back, but unfortunately they won't because of the situation over there. Plenty of them I meet in the UK are thinking of going to Aus/NZ.

okgo

42,231 posts

228 months

Monday 14th July 2008
quotequote all
thehawk said:
EVERY South African I know would love to move back, but unfortunately they won't because of the situation over there. Plenty of them I meet in the UK are thinking of going to Aus/NZ.
Yeh I know a few, afraid wimbledon area is infested, and they would all like to go back but dont want to because of issues

Mars

10,142 posts

244 months

Monday 14th July 2008
quotequote all
I was recently working for a Brit who had lived in SA for nearly 3 decades. He came back here for the general well-being of his kids. Although he misses the standard of living out there, he cannot reconcile that with the vastly greater chance of "death by being killed to death" that exists over there.

Onz

507 posts

236 months

Monday 14th July 2008
quotequote all
I work with a guy from Zim (moved over 7 years ago) and a guy from South Africa (moved over 1 year ago). By all accounts it sounds like SA is going down the same route that Zim has gone down unfortunately - both sound like they were fantastic places to live in their day, Zim in particular!

cosmos.

7,977 posts

279 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
SwissCamel said:
I'd take a hint from the wave after wave of white South Africans emigrating over here.
We've got one in our office who arrived in the UK 3 months ago. Hearing about how it is out there, I'm afraid to say it sounds like you'd be mad.

Fume troll

4,389 posts

242 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
Depends what you like. I think out of the cities you might not be too bad, big ranch in a national park or something....but for the rest... imploding?

Cheers,

FT.

Hedders

24,460 posts

277 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
Just for some Variety.

My cousin grew up out there but her family moved back here ten years ago and she came with them. She just went back out there, has bought a house and is really happy by allo accounts.

I think she is mad too, but she knows a lot more about SA than i do!

AndySA

902 posts

293 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
The Western Cape is a fantastic place to live. Yes crime is an issue but is nowhere near as out of hand and the media would have you believe especially in the areas you would most likely be living in. There are loads of europeans living out here either permanantly or as a second home. You cannot shop in Constantia without overhearing a european accent.

We have recruited a good number of people from the international market over the last 2 years and they are without exception happy here. There are a number of very good international schools in Cape Town that follow either the UK or USA systems. If you have kids.

On property prices my 4 bed home on a large plot in Bergvliet cost about 150000 against my sisters 3 bed terrace in Putney which was bought at about the same time for close on 800000.

If you have any queries I will answer them on here.

okgo

42,231 posts

228 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
AndySA said:
The Western Cape is a fantastic place to live. Yes crime is an issue but is nowhere near as out of hand and the media would have you believe especially in the areas you would most likely be living in. There are loads of europeans living out here either permanantly or as a second home. You cannot shop in Constantia without overhearing a european accent.

We have recruited a good number of people from the international market over the last 2 years and they are without exception happy here. There are a number of very good international schools in Cape Town that follow either the UK or USA systems. If you have kids.

On property prices my 4 bed home on a large plot in Bergvliet cost about 150000 against my sisters 3 bed terrace in Putney which was bought at about the same time for close on 800000.

If you have any queries I will answer them on here.
I have a query, why do ALL South Africans move to one of three places in london?

Wimbledon,Putney,Southfields?

There must be a reason? I don't even bother asking when I meet someone from SA to ask where they are from now hehe

BoRED S2upid

21,069 posts

270 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
As mad as a box of frogs.

AndySA

902 posts

293 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
Simply because most of there mates from home happen to live in the south west of london as well. Although apparently a lot of the afrikaans speaking south africans are living in the east and jewish ones in the north of london.

okgo

42,231 posts

228 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
AndySA said:
Simply because most of there mates from home happen to live in the south west of london as well. Although apparently a lot of the afrikaans speaking south africans are living in the east and jewish ones in the north of london.
Yes your right actually, a guy I use to work with is now working for jews in North London (he is an afrikaans speaking guy)Doesn't speak to highly of them irrc.

big_rob_sydney

3,671 posts

224 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
messe said:
house prices look incredible, low cost of living, good vineyards nearby and good weather.
Is it possible to get these things elsewhere? Not saying SA is a bad place, but on a scale of 1 to 10, is it possible to do elsewhere and have more safety?

Does language form a big part of your decision, or would you be happy to learn a new language (or do you in fact already speak another language)? Would you be happy to live in an ex pat community?

Pork you

34 posts

219 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
It's fine to move there if you enjoy rape and AIDS.

Dupont666

22,925 posts

222 months

Tuesday 15th July 2008
quotequote all
okgo said:
AndySA said:
The Western Cape is a fantastic place to live. Yes crime is an issue but is nowhere near as out of hand and the media would have you believe especially in the areas you would most likely be living in. There are loads of europeans living out here either permanantly or as a second home. You cannot shop in Constantia without overhearing a european accent.

We have recruited a good number of people from the international market over the last 2 years and they are without exception happy here. There are a number of very good international schools in Cape Town that follow either the UK or USA systems. If you have kids.

On property prices my 4 bed home on a large plot in Bergvliet cost about 150000 against my sisters 3 bed terrace in Putney which was bought at about the same time for close on 800000.

If you have any queries I will answer them on here.
I have a query, why do ALL South Africans move to one of three places in london?

Wimbledon,Putney,Southfields?

There must be a reason? I don't even bother asking when I meet someone from SA to ask where they are from now hehe
its not southfields anymore, they renamed it SafferFields.