# Johannesburg. Is it safe?



## Amereconomic (May 11, 2016)

Hello I will be graduating college soon with a degree in actuarial science and I noticed that South Africa has a ton of actuarial jobs so I really would like to live and work in Johannesburg because it is south Africa's largest city so it has a large expat community, jobs, and is similar to where I live currently in New York City but with great weather, but people tell me that I would be crazy to move there because it's so dangerous. Would Johannesburg really be dangerous for a single white man in his early 20s?


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## IamT (Aug 4, 2014)

Hi,

Congrats on the degree!

I am an expat and I have lived and worked in Johannesburg for 3 years although I am black.

I would not lie to you saying Jhb is safe, even for locals its at times not safe HOWEVER, there are probably hundreds of thousands of young white men such as you who live and work in Jhb safely.

I am not too sure about the safety levels of your area (NYC) so cannot make any comparisons. There are some pretty safe areas where you can make a career such as Sandton which I would like to think most of Actuarial jobs will be based and that area is a top drawer area and is relatively safe.

For a white expat, all you may need to do is to ignore the politics of the country which you cannot change anyway, focus on your career, mind your own business (avoid taking other peoples girlfriends, lol) and avoid going to unsafe areas such as Hillbrow and you will find yourself pretty satisfied. If it does not work out, well, you can always go back home to America so you will always have that option.

Have you also considered Cape Town-its also great but has areas that have been deemed most unsafe areas in South Africa too?

All the best!


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## Amereconomic (May 11, 2016)

Thanks for the feedback 
If I did consider cape town would Cape Town be a lot safer and would it have the same amount of expats, amenities, jobs, etc.


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## sebokolodi (May 10, 2016)

Cape Town would have a lot of expats, probably safer. However the job market would not be as good as Johannesburg. This is because Johannesburg is the financial hub


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## hopeful1986 (Feb 5, 2014)

i like to think of joburg like people speak of new york. you hear terrible things, but know of many people who are just fine. i lived there for many years, most recently worked from 2012 to just a few weeks ago and am fine, never witnessed crime, never had it happen to me. sure its there, but take precautions, try your best like you would anywhere. never any guarantees of course, same as anywhere, but there are definitely positives to go with the negatives..


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Read here about Johannesburg and safety: https://www.quora.com/How-safe-is-South-Africa-and-in-particular-Johannesburg


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