Should I move to South Africa?

You need a longer list of pros and cons than that, sir.

yeah, this is the lamest question on fluther.

yea go it is winter there

Let’s get you started: Will you have work there? Can you afford a move like that? Have you done research on the economy/politics/population/etc of Capetown and South Africa?

Hey, no fair! It’s my first question on Fluther. Give a newbie a break.

Details! We need more details! (Somewhere along the lines of what Les suggested.)

no it is realy nice there as long as you have a house with a fence around

Ciri: Errmmm…what happens if there’s no fence around?

@nimis:) i guess the lion comes tonight

I have a friend who lived in Johannesburg for a long time. His house was robbed about 15 times in five years. After having bought so much furniture for other people’s houses, he finally gave up and slept on the floor. He said that as a tennis player he LOVED living there, apparently there are lots of great courts, but from a safety perspective, he couldn’t stand it.

Random Fact(oid): There are great tennis courts in Africa.
(You should put that in your list of pros!)

Learn something new every day.

@ Nimis, I know, who woulda thought?

My wife did some of her undergraduate in Durban and loved it. She went to a conference in Cape Town recently and the place looks really beautiful. All that I can say, and this is stuff I’ve had South Africans tell me, is basically avoid Johannesburg because of the crime.

@superamit no, actually you’re lame.

Mike, I agree with some of the others; we need more details from you about why you are thinking about going there, and some other things. Here’s a list:

1. Your age
2. Any college degrees?
3. Any love interest there, or whom you will leave behind in CA?
4. Do you know the Afrikans language?
5. What kind of job can you get over there?
6. Do you already have legal permission (visa?) to work there?

There are more questions I have, but let’s start with those, and you can answer them via PM to me, if you don’t wish to tell the enitre world.

@paulc, lame? Ouch. All I know is that my friend said that he loved the tennis courts in Johannesburg. Maybe being a bit harsh there?

yes, you should move. tomorrow. start packing now.

Hi @JackAdams,

1. Age 29
2. Yes, brown and stanford, but I don’t see the connection?
3. No love interests in either place. (I do fancy Fluther user @delirium though.)
4. No, I don’t speak Afrikans, but I don’t think it matters. As far as I can tell, nearly everyone with whom I would like to interact will either speak only English or Afrikans & English.
5. I’d like to keep running the same tech consulting business I do now. Since most of the developers are in Asia, we’re already used to working remotely.
6. No, but do you really think it would be that hard to get?

Also, I agree with @Supermouse—Joberg seems like a crappy place to live. (I’ve only been there once, and wasn’t around long enough to get robbed.) Capetown, on the other hand, is beautiful and seems pretty safe.

The biggest “con” I con see (sorry, bad pun) is that I’d have to return to the states pretty frequently, which is going to get costly.

P.S. Does the Twitter-style ”@username” syntax actually do anything on Fluther?

Apropos to this question, I should add that my avatar picture was taken at the Cape of Good Hope.

@SuperMouse I was replying to the second answer in this question (hence @superamit and not @SuperMouse) – was not referring to you.

DO IT!

Reeeeemeeeeembeeeeeeer, SIMBA! Reeeeemeeeeembeeeeeeer…

http://www.debwalsh.com/kimba/kimba.jpg

@PaulC phew, I feel better, I do however feel a bit lame for misreading your post.

immigration in SA is getting tighter now, although not from overseas, mainly from in-africa travel. afrikans is kinda easy to pick up because its very similar to english. DO NOT live in jo’burg or pretoria, at least not in the city center. try someplace like Bonini or other small towns that barely make it on the map, because its very cozy and the residents know how t have a good time, in their own way. remember that there are cultural differences and that most south africans hate americans, so develop an accent. im canadian and went to SA and i got the finger a few times because of my accent. after a few days i stiched a huge canadian flag on my knapsack.

to sum up, its a great place for a tourist, but not for living (for me, but for you it might be different). i suggest living in a ural town in the veld, thats just my preference, but its very far from big cities other than pretoria or joburg which you can access from almost anywhere.

one more tip: never call it a bar-b-q. South africans call it a braii and hate the term BBQ.

Mike,

You answered with the following:

1. Age 29 [Nothing wrong with that age at all.]
2. Yes, brown and stanford, but I don’t see the connection? [The connection is that the better educated you are, the greater your likelihood for success in a land where you are not (yet) a citizen.]
3. No love interests in either place. (I do fancy Fluther user @delirium though.)
4. No, I don’t speak Afrikans, but I don’t think it matters. As far as I can tell, nearly everyone with whom I would like to interact will either speak only English or Afrikans & English. [Yes, it DOES matter, but you will discover why, on your own.]
5. I’d like to keep running the same tech consulting business I do now. Since most of the developers are in Asia, we’re already used to working remotely. [That could be a bit of a problem for you, because of some of the hostilities there, towards foreigners. Again, you will experience that on your own.]
6. No, but do you really think it would be that hard to get? [I don’t know for certain, but legal permission from the governments of some African nations are mandatory, to operate a foreign-owned business, and such will depend on (1) if they have quota restrictions and (2) if those limits have been reached, before you apply.]

My very best wishes to you, Mike! Success often, and always!

Jack

Is that a joke to you ,then F*C* YOU.

NEVER MINED then F*C* YOU

WORLD CUP 2010!!!!!!!!!

Are you healthy?

Ok, I’ve been living in South Africa for 3 years now, in Johannesburg actually, and here is the product of my knowledge:
1) Afrikaans is not mandatory, Afrikaans speakers will appreciate it if you try, as will Zulu speakers (and about 80% of the population can understand Zulu – so a better language to learn…), Xhosa speakers, Swazi speakers….or any other of the 11 official languages! Saying this though, I’ve managed to get by fine, and my only language is English (with a strong accent).
2) South Africa is an amazing place to live *
– Weather is awesome – winter temperatures range from 16 degrees C upwards, depending on where you are.
– People are friendly, again, there are always exceptions, but generally true.
– If you’re sporty, it’s the place to be
3)* South Africa is a scary place to live
– S.A. has an issue with crime – everywhere. This is not limited to Johannesburg, or Gauteng as a whole, everywhere. Durban and Cape Town included. If you want to live here, it’s something you have to come to terms with – rape is relatively common, along with all types of violent crime. I personally don’t want my kids to grow up here, but that’s because I can’t handle the worry.
– 25% or so of the population is HIV positive – if you don’t have a significant other already, be careful ;)
4) It may not be as easy as you think to be able to get a work permit – if you can second, or transfer from an existing company, then this will help greatly, otherwise visit the dept of home affairs on teh interweb, you can download all the forms you need. There is a shortage of highly skilled workers here, so if you have some skills in an area that’s needed, shouldn’t be any problem…

Hope this helps…