# Advice needed for a possible move to South Africa!



## pinkdolphin (Mar 15, 2009)

Hi there,

I am a 43 year old primary teacher from the UK. Well, I am actually German but have lived in the UK for many, many years. It's also the place where I had my daughter 12 years ago and where I did my post-grad to become a teacher. Since I obtained / collected three degress over the years, I have had my fair share of gap years & opportunities, and I have travelled extensively & lived in various parts of the world besides the UK. Now then, having come to a major cross-road in my life which includes turning my back on inner-city teaching in one of the most deprived clusters in the UK (!), OFSTED, attainment targets, SATs and so on, I am thinking of taking my career abroad...but so far it's a toss-up between Cape Town, SA and Vancouver, Canada. I know, I know...a bit of a diverse range but there is some logic behind it, or rather I love both cities for different reasons! Can anybody out there help me in terms of what it is like to teach (at an International School or similar) and live in either city with a 12 year old daughter??? Any comments, suggestions, advice would be very welcome!!! Many thanks!


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## Martinw (Jan 2, 2009)

*Canada (10) vs SA(-10)*

Without being to negative I will just say this. I have two daughters(not 12 yet) but the reason for leaving SA for Australia was exactly that. I did not want them or us to be there any longer than we needed too let alone them hitting the teenager stage in SOuth Africa - NO THANK YOU. If I was you I would head for Vancouver. I have never been to Canada, so why would I say that. Well the choice between a First World country and probably one of the richest nations compared to a THIRD WORLD country that is likely an probably heading the same way as Zimbabwe. My own honest opion - The only place worse than South Africa is probably one of these war torn countries - other than that most countries has to be better than SA. Aus is awesome. Good weather, good life, Safety and living in a First world country. I would recommend you read more of the other posts on this site and do more research about South Africa. And just remember that all the real bad stuff you have probably heard about is not found on all the conventional news sites. Look a bit deeper - For your wife and daughter's sake especially. I also know someone is going to come on here and tell you how wonderfull Cape Town is with no crime(or they have not been affected by it ) blah, blah. Just remember there is a lot they will not be telling you. How you live in fear etc, not sleeping at night when you hear noises. realy think about it and dont just accept someones good word on a country that you must have heard bad thiongs from for a long time, and for good reason. yes the country is beautifull( when you look past all the rubbish on the streets) but as my memory is not that bad, Canada is even more beautifull with the Rockies and lakes etc. I know what my choice would be. Think very carefull when you make yours.




pinkdolphin said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I am a 43 year old primary teacher from the UK. Well, I am actually German but have lived in the UK for many, many years. It's also the place where I had my daughter 12 years ago and where I did my post-grad to become a teacher. Since I obtained / collected three degress over the years, I have had my fair share of gap years & opportunities, and I have travelled extensively & lived in various parts of the world besides the UK. Now then, having come to a major cross-road in my life which includes turning my back on inner-city teaching in one of the most deprived clusters in the UK (!), OFSTED, attainment targets, SATs and so on, I am thinking of taking my career abroad...but so far it's a toss-up between Cape Town, SA and Vancouver, Canada. I know, I know...a bit of a diverse range but there is some logic behind it, or rather I love both cities for different reasons! Can anybody out there help me in terms of what it is like to teach (at an International School or similar) and live in either city with a 12 year old daughter??? Any comments, suggestions, advice would be very welcome!!! Many thanks!


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

I have a 10 year old daughter.
If I won the euro Millions tomorrow and could live anywhere with the same security as the Pres of the USA, South Africa is the last place I would live in.
I lived there for 54 years. never again.


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## Halo (May 8, 2008)

pinkdolphin said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I am a 43 year old primary teacher from the UK. Well, I am actually German but have lived in the UK for many, many years. It's also the place where I had my daughter 12 years ago and where I did my post-grad to become a teacher. Since I obtained / collected three degress over the years, I have had my fair share of gap years & opportunities, and I have travelled extensively & lived in various parts of the world besides the UK. Now then, having come to a major cross-road in my life which includes turning my back on inner-city teaching in one of the most deprived clusters in the UK (!), OFSTED, attainment targets, SATs and so on, I am thinking of taking my career abroad...but so far it's a toss-up between Cape Town, SA and Vancouver, Canada. I know, I know...a bit of a diverse range but there is some logic behind it, or rather I love both cities for different reasons! Can anybody out there help me in terms of what it is like to teach (at an International School or similar) and live in either city with a 12 year old daughter??? Any comments, suggestions, advice would be very welcome!!! Many thanks!


Forget SA - Canada rocks and its safe for your family.


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## pinkdolphin (Mar 15, 2009)

Thank you both Martinw & Daxk for your replies! Ok, so SA it isn't which I kind of thought as I've got SA friends here in the UK who left Jo'burg for the very reasons of security & would never ever go back. But I hoped that Cape Town might be different as in it has changed to the better over the recent years but obviously the opposite has been happening - shame really because I love this place. Well, maybe Canada it will be after all but somehow that doesn't sit right either. Hmmmm, more thinking needs to be done... 
Happy sunny Sunday!
Pinkdolphin


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

Pink Dolphin, there are a whole bunch of positive people who say the crime is decreasing and that CT is different and you can live in CT in safety.
What makes me dispute that is that the Crime Stats are now 15 months overdue so how can they say that Crime is decreasing?
secondly, the latest conviction figures for rape is 7.6%
That is 7.6% of Reported Rapes and Rape Crisis Centres state that only 1 in 9 rapes are reported as the SA Police Service actively try and dissuade people from opening cases "If you dont know who attacked you" 

so no, it might look like Paradise on top, but the ones who leave because of Crime all say the same thing, Never Again.
Makes you think.


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## pinkdolphin (Mar 15, 2009)

Daxk,
Thanks again for your reply! Wow, the crime statistics (or lack of) are indeed bleak and food for thought! Having said that, I am already certain that I won't persue my idea of moving to SA! But I definately want to escape the English inner-city rat-race as I am absolutely sick of it! Sorry if I appear a bit random in my choice of place to live but I am have only just started to think about leaving the UK, and there's soooo much to consider! Also, I don't want to replace one rat-race with another! I've travelled quite a bit in Ireland but never really considered living there due to the phenomenal cost of living (my last visit to Ireland was four years ago when the Euro was very strong). What's Ireland now like in economic terms? Has the recession hit yet? 
Pinkdolphin


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

it has,Pink Dolphin, Ireland was extremely vulnerable as 63% of its employment was tied up in Construction.
The people are great,its a beautiful Country Depends on why you are ;leaving the UK?
if its weather then Ireland is the same as the UK, If I retire finally for the 4th Time (lol) and am still alive, then the Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar in the Indian Ocean or St Kitts etc in the Pacific might call me.
Gues it depends on your interests


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## pinkdolphin (Mar 15, 2009)

Oh dear...just what I thought! 
What do I want? Nicer weather would be lovely but, as lovely as the Seychelles etc are, they are not really suitable to raise a 12-year old. Besides, I am way off the retirement age, so I am not sure they offer enough. I want to get away from rat race in the English education system but I don't want to leave teaching altogether as I love it too much. In no particular order I would love a job in a British / International School, interesting/cosmopolitan setting, the sea nearby, great outdoors, friendly/open/tolerant people, a safe environment & enough opportunities for my daughter to nurture her talents! Am I asking for too much??? And if not, where can I find it all (joking!) or some bits of it??? Not in the UK, that's for sure!
Pinkdolphin


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

Yeah, my Daughter is now 10 so can relate.
I had to make those choices about 4 years ago.
I would suggest that Oz is going to be your best bet, they want teachers, education, crime out of the major centres,lifestyle etc..
When I left SA I had basically 4 choices, Oz, and the States would have meant major capital investment and a 4 year wait for citizenship, having a EU passport gave me access to a lot of places but without adding the stress of a new language , left the UK or Ireland. 

Ireland, out of Dublin and Limerick, ticked all the boxes with the caveat of Weather.
That to me was a small price to pay.


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## Martinw (Jan 2, 2009)

*OZ is great place*

There are number( would say quite a lot) of British Nationals here in Western Australia. My neighbours are from York and they love it here. He teaches at the TAFE( Australian technical college) in Perth. We are about 50-60min south of Perth in a little town, which is more like a remote suburb of Perth. All the POMS we have met here absolutely love the weather and lifestyle. Here evryone almost goes away camping etc. everyweekend. As we are between Perth and the South West, on weekends the cars really come through here on their way to their "weekly mini getaway" only till the freeway is completed.
Life here is great. Safe, no worries and have the oppertunity to do what you want. We Could not have asked to be in a better place. Far away enough from Perth to enjoy the lifestyle and close enough to enjoy the city life as well. Best of both worlds I guess. We were originally from Durban, which proib had the best weather in SA. This place trumps that real easy. gets a bit hot in summer yes, but almost no humidity. Just really nice weather.

There are talks unfortunately of tightening up on the immigration numbers. I think they are talking of slashing between 15-20000, but that is mostly for the "trades"
Medical, engineering and maybe education would prob still be open.




pinkdolphin said:


> Oh dear...just what I thought!
> What do I want? Nicer weather would be lovely but, as lovely as the Seychelles etc are, they are not really suitable to raise a 12-year old. Besides, I am way off the retirement age, so I am not sure they offer enough. I want to get away from rat race in the English education system but I don't want to leave teaching altogether as I love it too much. In no particular order I would love a job in a British / International School, interesting/cosmopolitan setting, the sea nearby, great outdoors, friendly/open/tolerant people, a safe environment & enough opportunities for my daughter to nurture her talents! Am I asking for too much??? And if not, where can I find it all (joking!) or some bits of it??? Not in the UK, that's for sure!
> Pinkdolphin


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## Zimtony (Jun 28, 2008)

pinkdolphin said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I am a 43 year old primary teacher from the UK. Well, I am actually German but have lived in the UK for many, many years. It's also the place where I had my daughter 12 years ago and where I did my post-grad to become a teacher. Since I obtained / collected three degress over the years, I have had my fair share of gap years & opportunities, and I have travelled extensively & lived in various parts of the world besides the UK. Now then, having come to a major cross-road in my life which includes turning my back on inner-city teaching in one of the most deprived clusters in the UK (!), OFSTED, attainment targets, SATs and so on, I am thinking of taking my career abroad...but so far it's a toss-up between Cape Town, SA and Vancouver, Canada. I know, I know...a bit of a diverse range but there is some logic behind it, or rather I love both cities for different reasons! Can anybody out there help me in terms of what it is like to teach (at an International School or similar) and live in either city with a 12 year old daughter??? Any comments, suggestions, advice would be very welcome!!! Many thanks!



In the complete reverse of NIKE, "Just don't do it!"


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## pinkdolphin (Mar 15, 2009)

Sounds bliss!!! And I know as I have been quite a few times to OZ when living in Hong-Kong as my ex-sister-in-law lives in Adelaide! BUT it's soooooooooo far away which might be a problem as I still have an elderly mother living in Germany who's heart would simply break if she could'nt see her grandaughter again or at least more than once a year / every two years!!! So now what???


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## pinkdolphin (Mar 15, 2009)

Ok, ok...I am getting the message - thanks though for your reply!!!


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## irishxpat (Nov 17, 2008)

Daxk said:


> Yeah, my Daughter is now 10 so can relate.
> I had to make those choices about 4 years ago.
> I would suggest that Oz is going to be your best bet, they want teachers, education, crime out of the major centres,lifestyle etc..
> When I left SA I had basically 4 choices, Oz, and the States would have meant major capital investment and a 4 year wait for citizenship, having a EU passport gave me access to a lot of places but without adding the stress of a new language , left the UK or Ireland.
> ...


you went to limerick stab city dublin shooting every weekend kildare lovely


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## Daxk (Jan 20, 2008)

irishexpat, you been playing with Bigdave again??

I stayed out of Stab city and Dublin D4.
I live in Galway because I could'nt understand Corky and Kildare may be lovely but did'nt want my daughter to have to compete with a sheep when she starts dating.
How is your new camel btw? I believe she is quite pretty but hard to please.


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## irishxpat (Nov 17, 2008)

Daxk said:


> irishexpat, you been playing with Bigdave again??
> 
> I stayed out of Stab city and Dublin D4.
> I live in Galway because I could'nt understand Corky and Kildare may be lovely but did'nt want my daughter to have to compete with a sheep when she starts dating.
> How is your new camel btw? I believe she is quite pretty but hard to please.


the sheep are my leisure centre and the new camel chop suey is hard nut to crack


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## queby (May 9, 2009)

pinkdolphin said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I am a 43 year old primary teacher from the UK. Well, I am actually German but have lived in the UK for many, many years. It's also the place where I had my daughter 12 years ago and where I did my post-grad to become a teacher. Since I obtained / collected three degress over the years, I have had my fair share of gap years & opportunities, and I have travelled extensively & lived in various parts of the world besides the UK. Now then, having come to a major cross-road in my life which includes turning my back on inner-city teaching in one of the most deprived clusters in the UK (!), OFSTED, attainment targets, SATs and so on, I am thinking of taking my career abroad...but so far it's a toss-up between Cape Town, SA and Vancouver, Canada. I know, I know...a bit of a diverse range but there is some logic behind it, or rather I love both cities for different reasons! Can anybody out there help me in terms of what it is like to teach (at an International School or similar) and live in either city with a 12 year old daughter??? Any comments, suggestions, advice would be very welcome!!! Many thanks!


Although I haven't lived in Vancouver or Australia I have visited both several times. I have, however lived in Cape Town, when my husband was posted there by his company. There is no doubt that it is a beautiful city and has much to commend it. However, bear in mind that if you have children you will spend a great deal of time ferrying them round in the car. Unless things have changed, there is very little (if any) public transport available to them. I found it irksome to have to get into the car every time I wanted to go anywhere. Crime was high when we were there, although not on the scale of Joburg where my husband's family was living. We lived in a area that was patrolled by an armed response driver/vehicle. He was also a paramedic, which was useful! I often say to younger people that if I was in their position with a job that is in demand I would move to Australia - no question about it. It will be a great opportunity for your daughter to grow up in a country that (in my opinion) spends time looking forward and not backwards! Good luck....


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