# Moving to SA in a couple of years



## JoCooke (Mar 19, 2012)

Hi Everyone

My boyfriend and I are looking to move over to SA (probably starting in Johannesburg for Work) in about 18 months time when our Relatives Visas are approved.

We have been to various places in SA on holiday over the last couple of years and have fallen in love with the place. 

That's why I find it hard to understand all the negative comments people make about SA. Yes, I realise it has it's problems but the UK and Europe are not fairing that much better hence we decided to change our lifestyle and try a new country.

Any thoughts?


----------



## WhenweB (Jan 23, 2012)

JoCooke said:


> Hi Everyone
> 
> My boyfriend and I are looking to move over to SA (probably starting in Johannesburg for Work) in about 18 months time when our Relatives Visas are approved.
> 
> ...


Gosh JoCooke - its great you want to move to SA but I would probably avoid Jhb if I were you. Have a look at the threads on the "Is it worth it?" and "why would anyone want to move to SA" as loads of info on both of those. You are right it is a beautiful country but the concerns of people who have been there and either want to return or never want to darken its doors again are all very valid. Hope you find them interesting then make your own decsion. Good luck. :ranger:


----------



## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

JoCooke said:


> Hi Everyone
> 
> My boyfriend and I are looking to move over to SA (probably starting in Johannesburg for Work) in about 18 months time when our Relatives Visas are approved.
> 
> ...


Hi there, we settled in Joburg for work reasons (we were both offered more money here). Joburg has got a bad reputation but having now stayed here for over a year I have no complaints. Saying that it totally depends upon where you stay. I know there are a lot of no-go areas in Joburg but it is easy to make the decision to stay away from these. We have settled in a suburb called Kensington and we love it here and I work in Bedfordview which is also nice (although very expensive to live). I would not go for a Sunday walk in Joburg CBD but on the other hand I never really have a reason to go there. We spend the weekends with friends, going out in Sandton in the evenings and going to markets (the market at Irene (Centurion) is very nice and the Rooftop Market in Rosebank is also lovely or just being in Kensington. I would recommend Joburg to anyone although having been to Cape Town I would say that I would love to live there because I think the city is much nicer and people seem friendly but for the time being, money rules so we are staying put. Joburg is not for everyone though so it is a personal decision for sure. It's not called Gangsters Paradise for nothing


----------



## kingofthecastle (Mar 26, 2012)

JoCooke said:


> Hi Everyone
> 
> My boyfriend and I are looking to move over to SA (probably starting in Johannesburg for Work) in about 18 months time when our Relatives Visas are approved.
> 
> ...


When trying to understand the negative comments try understand that many South Africans have been conditioned through years of propaganda to believe if blacks ran the country everything would go up in flames. Of course racism amongst white South Africans IS RAMPANT and don't let anyone tell you any different and many find having a black government a bitter pill to swallow. People will attempt to play this down and claim that it a symptom of their experience rather than the cause of their "new South Africa "prejudice. 

In reality there is absolutely no doubt that crime is made to be a much bigger deal than it actually is for middle classed people in the suburbs by certain politically or racvially moticated elements of the population. 

Crime is however a problem in South Africa, but in truth that's really a problem chiefly experienced by the poor in townships people. Nobody can guarantee you that crime won't affect you in South Africa, you can't do that anywhere, but if they were being rational they would at least concede that violent crime is very unlikely to affect you as a middle classed person if you show the slightest bit of common sense and basic precautions. 

Of course in a country with massive disparities in wealth such as South Africa you will always have a lot of petty crime. Necessity plus opportunity will always equal theft. 

Despite what people tell you, you can get a good sense of what life is like in South Africa over a few holidays. It's not like when you get on the plane they sound a alarm that the tousists are gone so" back to the war". Some guy claimed to understand the "threat" you had to have lived here a long time. I think he's basically confused. To be indoctrinated to percieving the threat to be bigger than it is perhaps it would have helped if you were here a long time ago. Catch my drift ?

Statistically South Africa has less tousist murders than Australia. And broken down in demographics the murder rate for white women is 2.8 per 100 000 according to the medical research council. Most of those murder (over 50%) happen at the hands of a spouse or boyfriend and in 80% of the time the murderer is someone you know. So the chance of random crime rather than interpersonal related violence affecting you is really, really low.

Regarding the JHB versus the rest of S.A thing, it is true that half the murders in the whole country happen in the little province of Gauteng but then the population of Gauteng is one of the highest of any province. So by avoiding JHB you can cut those chances down another 50% but I would still honestly suggest too much is made of crime in JHB. (Not that one single violent crime is ever acceptible but people do really tend to go on a bit at times.)


----------

