South Africa?

BooBear123

Has anyone here experience living in South Africa? I was thinking about moving there next year but I've heard it is really expensive. What are your experiences there, is it a nice place to live, are jobs plentiful or scarce?

Thank you!

keithclancy

I don't know about moving there, but I know a ton of South Africans who moved from there to the UK/Netherlands/Germany, simply because they had experienced some sort of violent crime.

digme

Everyone is trying desperately to leave there, especially whites.

BooBear123

Ok thanks, enough said! A group of us were going to head over in the New Year but I think we'll keep looking for a new destination! Thanks again :-)

Fysh

digme wrote: »

Everyone is trying desperately to leave there, especially whites.

I appreciate there's a certain amount of personal experience that's probably informing your statement, but can you link to any sources that could help the OP to understand the circumstances and conditions over there?

Ddad

We lived there for two years a decade ago. We didn't directly experience the crime but we saw a lot of it through friends and some family members who had horrific experiences. The level and depravity of crime there is way above anything you'd see here in terms of population. Getting work permits sorted was an utter pain in the arse. The office of home affairs were a nightmare.
Unless your a professional with sought after skills forget about the big bucks and being a black african is a major employment advantage. You are seriously disadvantaged in the jobs marketplace if you are white unless you have a skill that is in short supply.

In terms of lifestyle we had a really great time but we moved home a s it wasn't the kind of place you wanted to raise a family.

keithclancy

Fysh wrote: »

I appreciate there's a certain amount of personal experience that's probably informing your statement, but can you link to any sources that could help the OP to understand the circumstances and conditions over there?

http://www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=8590

Crime

South Africa has a high-level of crime, including violent crime, rape and murder. While most cases occur in townships or in areas away from normal tourist destinations, no where is completely safe and visitors should exercise caution when travelling in both urban and rural environments, including city centre areas at night (city centres are usually referred to as Central Business Districts or CBDs in South Africa).

Walking at night is not advisable and many tourists consider public transport to be unsafe; private car rental is the safest option for independent travel and is favoured by most tourists. As elsewhere, please be particularly careful with personal items and valuables in markets and other places frequented by tourists.

Armed car-jacking is a serious concern throughout South Africa. Thefts and smash-and-grab robberies from vehicles are common. Drivers should keep their vehicle door locked and windows closed, and exercise caution when travelling, particularly at night and at filling stations.

If you are mugged or your car is hijacked you should remain calm, offer no resistance and hand over possessions without question. Avoid eye contact.

Visitors are advised to exercise extreme caution if travelling to townships. It is recommended that you only visit townships as part of a recognised tour.

As elsewhere, thieves like to operate at international airports, bus and railway stations. Keep your baggage with you at all times.

Keep large amounts of money, expensive jewellery, cameras and cell phones out of sight. Do not change large sums of money in busy public areas. Do not give personal or financial account information details to unknown parties.

Ticket touting is illegal. Do not attempt to purchase tickets on the black market. Do not travel to stadiums without a valid ticket.

The penalties for both the supply and possession of drugs are severe in South Africa and can include life imprisonment.

Prostitution is illegal in South Africa. There is also a high risk of HIV/AIDS (please see section on Health below).

Magic Pips

I lived there for over 2 years and still visit very regularly. While crime is an issue the picture painted here is misleading. If you still want info please PM me.

x in the city

keithclancy wrote: »

http://www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=8590

anyone would be nuts to go to SA in fairness, id rather stay in shamboohooley or whatever its called.

Zambia

As the User name suggests I lived in Africa for some time 14 yrs. In that time I was only car jacked once.

If you have a good job and a decent escape route, its a great place to live.

Magic Pips

x in the city wrote: »

anyone would be nuts to go to SA in fairness, id rather stay in shamboohooley or whatever its called.

Having lived there, i disagree. Is your opinion based solely on the dfa warnings?

up for anything

My brother married a British SA and they moved there from England with their children 14 years ago. None of them have been mugged or carjacked or experienced any personal danger because they act sensibly and take precautions without being paranoid and constantly thinking about what could happen.

He thinks we are mad living in this grey, damp country. It's horses for courses.

However, his daughter and her friend were over here back in May and from what they say that reverse discrimination is epidemic both in work and college situations so you might find it difficult to get jobs that would pay enough to give you a reasonable standard of living out there as it is very expensive. They found Ireland cheap so that shows you.

BooBear123

Thanks for all your feedback, everyone. It has definitely given me a lot to think about and we will need to weigh up the pro's and con's of the place. We are all graduates but don't have much work experience so I'm guessing this would have an affect on the jobs we could get. We really wouldn't be able to afford to have a high cost of living. South Africa is just one of the places we are considering so the information ye gave is really helpful. Thanks again!

endabob1

I've lived in SA for 3 years now, and I did a year here a decade ago;

I can offer lots of advice and opinions if you're really serious

A quick summary
Crime is an issue, but it depends where you live. Without being blasé or condescending the vast majority of crime happens in the poorest areas, if you're coming to live here you won't be spending much time there unless you're doing charity work. In Cape Town (where I stay) the main other area’s to avoid are some parts of the city centre at night. Facts are, 4 years here in total, no incidents.
Lifestyle is fabulous, I live in a very nice house with a pool and in summer we go camping a lot into the mountains, up the west coast and down the southern peninsula.
It is a lot more expensive than it used to be but eating & drinking are still very reasonable (a bottle of beer is +/- 15 rand in a bar/restaurant) a good steak is about 130 rand.
Salaries are lower than Ireland, and in unskilled or semi-skilled areas they are a whole lot lower than Ireland, the dole or minimum wage in Ireland would be more than a lot of people’s salaries here.

I think if you're graduates you will struggle plus it's quite difficult getting work permits as foreigners, my oh is a local which was my ticket in.

jackalberi

BooBear123 wrote: »

Has anyone here experience living in South Africa? I was thinking about moving there next year but I've heard it is really expensive. What are your experiences there, is it a nice place to live, are jobs plentiful or scarce?

Thank you!

What did you end up deciding ? I currently live in South Africa.

endabob1

jackalberi wrote: »

What did you end up deciding ? I currently live in South Africa.

Where do you live Jackalberi?
Been here 5 years and toying with the idea of going back to Ireland.