# still undecided!!



## WhenweB (Jan 23, 2012)

Well it's been 9 months since we got back from our holiday in Cape Town when I was so sure I wanted to move back from UK to SA. I have got my passport and still need to sort out my British husband's permanent resident visa but I have now lost my nerve. I would like to find out if any of the people who moved to SA over the past few months have found it to be a good choice or are things not what you hoped. I do hope you are happy but your honest opinions / experiences would be very much appreciated. Thanks.:ranger:


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## Jem62 (Jul 25, 2012)

It really does depend on where you want to live, I moved from the UK back to SA after twenty years. Having been back in Cape Town now for 18 months I cannot believe the quality of life my family and I have. We should have moved sooner, London was making us more and more depressed. We do have the advantage of an extensive network of family and friends hence it is easier for us. South Africa is full of opportunities, if you have a skill or professsion which is in demand, you are unlikely to be looking for work for too long.


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## WhenweB (Jan 23, 2012)

Jem62 said:


> It really does depend on where you want to live, I moved from the UK back to SA after twenty years. Having been back in Cape Town now for 18 months I cannot believe the quality of life my family and I have. We should have moved sooner, London was making us more and more depressed. We do have the advantage of an extensive network of family and friends hence it is easier for us. South Africa is full of opportunities, if you have a skill or professsion which is in demand, you are unlikely to be looking for work for too long.


Thanks Jem62 - we would be moving back to Cape Town too - I was born there and came to UK 16 years ago. My 8 year old daughter and I have a lovely life here but I hate the weather. My husband who is British is a chartered engineer and project manager so that would be a highly paid job in SA but not over here - he works so hard is middle management with no hope of getting to top management but has no quality of life at all as too late for hobbies once he gets home in the evenings. He is worried about crime and schooling and although I have assured him that he would easily get a job there he doesn't want to resign and sell the house to go to SA and then not get a job and have no social welfare to fall back on (something we have never used but its comforting to know its there). Sugh a hard decision. I am so glad to hear you have had a positive settled well there - very encouraging to know. Thanks for replying.


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## Jem62 (Jul 25, 2012)

Just on another point, we did not sell our house but let it on a leashold basis for five years to our local authority who would take care of all maintenance and pay us an agreed rent irrespective of whether the property was vacant or let. It has allowed us to have a fall back position just in case things do not work out. This has added benefits, renting a property in CT is way cheaper than doing so in the UK - London in particular. Your husband will really never be out of work, engineers are in short supply. The quality of life above all has been so worth while, we too had enough of the weather and overcrowded train journeys and roads.


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## Paul-H (Sep 30, 2012)

Hi, my wife and I have been twice and are going again early 2014.
There's no doubt in our minds, we are going to retire there.
I wish we could go tomorrow.
The quality of life is far better. I even hurt my back out there and had to pay for private treatment.
A consultation and three lots of physio cost me a grand total of £100 with a few pounds of drugs on top.
I hope you get on ok.
Cheers
Paul.


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