South Africa

[gummybear]

My hubby wants us to pack up and move to South Africa after some of our friends recently left ( 6 months ago) .. We have never even been and i wonder if anyone has any experiance of the place they would like to share !!

[kp nonuts]

Hi there gummy I work with somebody that comes from south africa Im in the internet cafe at the moment and will be going back soon so if I can find him (its a big site we are working on) I will ask him about it for you, and post back here tonight, I will have to do this today though as I am starting a new job on monday will let you know later tonight anyway.

[gummybear]

Thanks KP - Id really appreciate that, my hubby has got in touch with immigration companys and everything, feel kinda swept away with it. He reccons we would be wealthy out there ie mortgage free big houses with pools only �200k.
savings intrest rates of 13% ie savings would give us a �2000 a month intrest to spend....sounds great but i cant really find anything online to support it, he has the outskirts of Cape Town in mind ? Any info at all would be great, No holiday time left at work so cant even go look, he wants to put the house up for sale !!!

[sense4all]

I love S.A. and go there to visit every year for the last three, my Hubby wants to buy a holiday home out there... honestly I am hesitating until I see how the new President in waiting shapes up he is much more militant than the last couple. I think it could be interesting times ahead. Lifestyle and scenery can't beat it and standard of living - eating out etc very reasonable. Johanasburg is a definate no for us Capetown and the Cape area only for us.

[DSJ]

We love South Africa, too, but for holidays only. Cape Town & Port Elizabeth are beautiful places but there is still alot of crime out there. Don't pack your bags & burn your bridges behind you on a whim. Never go to settle somewhere you
haven't visited first.

After all, you wouldn't buy a house somewhere new in this country without looking it over first, would you?

[gummybear]

thanks sense4all - if you have returned twice it must be lovely, cant say im very political but i did not like the sound of the word " militant" they are not at war or anything are they ? god i sound so thick but politics just aint my thing x

[sense4all]

An idea here : he is an allegedly interesting character.

http://iafrica.com/news/specialreport/zuma_tri al/features/195760.htm

Why don't you go - but rent for six months, so the UK market will not be unavaliable to you if you decide to return here. The Cape winelands are lovely but even there crime is a ' rumbling'problem, mostly caused by people from within Africa ( Democratic Republic Congo and Nigeria have large gangs that visit to commit crime then return home)but not S.A. themselves so much. People do not stop at red lights after dark - you try to time it so the juncton is clear for you to sweep thro' - but once you know this you accomodate it in your driving. It is still a lovely area. There is crime in the leafy part of Buckinghamshire I live in now too! but generally the benefits outweigh the risks.

I love a summer courtyard breakfast here:

http://www.uitsig.co.za/constantia_uitsig/uits ig.html and lunch or dinner at the African buffet here ... but don't buy the wine ... I don't.

use the links to look at other amenities on this site:

http://seamore-express.com/eng/8daystour_wgcg. htm

love Sense.X.

[sense4all]

ok at uitsig I buy the wine from the shop, failure to pick up this link lovely dining experience but I don't buy wine will try again

http://www.spier.co.za/whattodoatspier/moyo.ht m

or type in moyo.co.za to look at the treetop dining tables luvverly.

[kp nonuts]

Hi gummy managed to find him and all he had to say was dont .
I must admit that was my feelings about the place as well but there do seem to be a fair few people here that have said its lovely there,so I suppose its what place you go to.

I myself have always thought of south africa as a fairly dodgy place as well but and must agree with DSJ you should visit there first even if you have to spend a sickie at work, and sense4all makes good sense in what he/she says (pardon the pun) and me mate at work also said that they just drive through red lights over there as well

Sorry I cant be of much more help to you but I suppose its like anywhere else you have to know the right places to live.

So choose well yoda..... good luck.

[gummybear]

Thanks everyone !! Had a chat with hubby and put foot down that we go and see befor we sell up etc etc, gonna throw a sickie as suggested, never even thought of that ! What could poss keep me off for 2-3 weeks though ????