MJ, I have neve lived in CT so my comment is flawed at the outset, however, CT has'nt yet succeded in declaring itself a separate Republic so a lot of what happens in SA follows through.
Anywhere in SA you could spend 40 years and never be a victim of more than what is considered petty theft,ie Burglary,Car theft,handbag snatching etc, which is fine if you are not in "Contact"
If,however, you do come into Contact it tends to be life threatening and life changing.
South Africans tend to be optimists and will say"If you take care...." That is a fallacy,.
If you have children, you need to ask yourself wether you are happy living with the tension of the constant 360 degree vigilance,locking and unlocking everything you are in a hundred times a day,teaching your kids that a blood nose or an interesting scab on someone else could be very bad,always being aware of whee your kids are and who they are with etc etc
On the other hand, you could sail through and spend 40 years there.

I love SA, would love to be there, I have a Daughter.
If I won the Euro Millions lotto tomorrow and could live anywhere in the world with the best security money can buy, SA would be the last place on my list.