Hello everyone!

I know this has been asked many times, but still I don't have a clear picture of the situation in this beautiful city regarding security/crime.
Let me say first that I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and I have visited CT last year in October, but it was only a three day visit (the last day it rained a lot, so just count two ;-).

My question refers to how real is the perception created by the media.
I know from my own experience in my country that sometimes, media creates histeria, and it seriously affects the perception people has about reality.
For examle, the recent economic crash of 2001 in Argentina originated serious social problems and, obviously, crime rised considerably.
But considering that Buenos Aires was a relatively safe place before the crash, many people feel now that this is out of control, and everytime a visitor arrives, he/she gets bogged down with terrible details on how bad the situation is right now...

I still believe that in spit of what we see in the media, BsAs is still one of the safest large cities in the world, and anyone armed with a little bit of common sense can live perfectly ok.

Is this the situation in Cape Town, or it really is "that serious"?
I got the feeling that the situation in CP is similar to that of Buenos Aires, but I don´t know really...

My first impression of CT was that it is a really pleasant place. I know October is right before the tourist season, so it probably looked more laid back than it is, but I've never seen anything to worry about (only a few beggars, nothing serious).
The only things that made me wonder were all those signal warnings on every single door indicating "ARMED RESPONSE".
While watching all the beautiful properties all along Camps Bay and surrounding areas, it was hard to imagine that this was a crime riden place, but the warnings were there, very visible...

When you walk down to these beaches, you can see a lot of bungalows and small nice places to rent. These properties are very exposed and easy to get into. All of them show "ARMED RESPONSE" warnings, but strangely, there don´t seem to be many armed guards...
All this is very strange for a first time visitor, so I would like to hear from locals what´s exactly the situation there.

Can I imagine myself living a normal life, with small kids, going to school, working and enjoying the city everyday?
I always wanted to spend at least a couple of years with my family in a foreign country, learning a new language (specially my little daughters), and having a life experience, and I wonder if South Africa, and CT in particular, could be this place.
Of course, I wouldn´t be living in Camps Bay.. I'm not rich, so I would have to live in a somewhat affordable, down to earth place...

Any hint?
I would apreciate comments from locals or expats that could give me a clearer picture of everyday life in Cape Town.

Thanks!
Luis