Hi BeautifulMystique

Unfortunately I've only just found and joined this forum so no privileges of any kind yet. I'm going to monologue a little first and then get to Cape Town. Stay with me.

I've taken a look at some of the other threads and posts on this section and there are certainly some common themes both positive and negative. The big thing about SA is that "it is what it is". Sure things are rocky, things are rocky everywhere. Yes there's crime, no it's not a war zone. Yes the government can come across as dumb, no it's not unique to SA and yes it's getting better. We've just been through 14 years of starting over and it's been an interesting ride of short & medium term adjustments in the balance of opportunity. Introducing a brand new government driven by one fundamental goal of providing for the folk that elected it will do that to you. Thankfully we've got a wonderfully stable economy as a base from which to effect change, one that's intrinsically linked to the markets all around the world. Who could ask for more?

The infrastructure in SA is 1st world, the customer service is a little lumpy but excellent. People are richer than ever before and taking a look at the number of new cars on the road, the number of businesses that have remained successful, and grown in spite of the potential effects of BEE, I'd say things are peachy. I have the greatest respect for the leading business folk in SA, regardless of colour.

So, enough of that. On to Cape Town. Cape Town is pretty cool, it's a city that's grown organically and is wonderfully sculpted in some areas and also reflects the influx of folk from the rural areas looking for their share of the pie. All in all, it's lovely, certainly much more beautiful than London. I think it's the mountain that does it. And the sea. And the sun. And the people.

Am I worried about the safety of my wife and little girl? Absolutely, but we live in Carshalton (in London) in what I like to call "chav central" and my wife worries every day about taking our little one for a walk. A good friend of ours was assaulted in our street by a group of girls and their mothers who in turn were assaulting another lass. They really took offense to her being South African. So do I worry anymore than I do here? I do, but not much.

Cape Town, as with the rest of the country in varying degrees, is a city that has a balance of good and bad that's in excess of London, San Antonio, New York, Perth and a number of other places I've visited. It's as easy to be successful in Cape Town as it is in any other city, the opportunities are the same and sometimes greater. With the world cup coming up things are certainly going to get much more interesting over the next two years.

I know it's a long post, you can tell I'm passionate about the topic can't you.