Seeking info on Cape Town

[jsk]

My husband and I are exploring a post in Cape Town and I'd appreciate hearing from folks who live there. Thank you for your time and consideration! Here are my questions:

As a US citizen, am I allowed to work in CT?

I hear so much about crime in CT. My husband will be working long hours on his assignment. Are there parts of the city to live in so that a woman alone can move around the community safely during the day? Is it safe to go hiking, biking or to the beach? Is it safe to drive to local events?

I am also interested in studying plant biodiversity, landscape design, fiber arts. Are there places to either study or volunteer?

Thank you very much!!!

JSK

[Johanna]

Originally Posted by jsk

My husband and I are exploring a post in Cape Town and I'd appreciate hearing from folks who live there. Thank you for your time and consideration! Here are my questions:

As a US citizen, am I allowed to work in CT?

I hear so much about crime in CT. My husband will be working long hours on his assignment. Are there parts of the city to live in so that a woman alone can move around the community safely during the day? Is it safe to go hiking, biking or to the beach? Is it safe to drive to local events?

I am also interested in studying plant biodiversity, landscape design, fiber arts. Are there places to either study or volunteer?

Thank you very much!!!

JSK

cape Town is quite a big city, where in Cape Town is your husband going to work, perhaps someone on this forum knows CT better than I do.

Many of my friends live and work in CT, walk long distances either on the beach or in the New Forest ,etc.
Kirstenbosch gardens is a must for you!

[chrisc2615]

Originally Posted by jsk

My husband and I are exploring a post in Cape Town and I'd appreciate hearing from folks who live there. Thank you for your time and consideration! Here are my questions:

As a US citizen, am I allowed to work in CT?

I hear so much about crime in CT. My husband will be working long hours on his assignment. Are there parts of the city to live in so that a woman alone can move around the community safely during the day? Is it safe to go hiking, biking or to the beach? Is it safe to drive to local events?

I am also interested in studying plant biodiversity, landscape design, fiber arts. Are there places to either study or volunteer?

Thank you very much!!!

JSK

You need to apply for working visa before you come

Cape Town is as safe as any other SA city, not as safe as NY or London. Obviously there are areas where you would not go during the day or night, but generally it is quite safe

Having said that, you must always be aware of your surroundings. Hiking in the Cape mountains must be done with a party, apart from the crime angle, people get lost in the mountains or the weather changes, etc. The same with biking.

Going to the beach is no problem at all, probably the safest place

Houses here are relatively cheap compared with UK, US and Australia. For the equivalent of $200000 you can get something really nice in a good suburb. Not as cheap as Jhb but Cape Town has always been like that.

The lifestyle is excellent, the climate marvellous. Good restaurants, stunning scenery, the winelands adjacent to our city, western Cape mountains. Everyone understands English 100%.

Govt bureaucracy can be a bit intimidating and you have to be patient. Fortunately, Cape Town is run by the parliamentary opposition and they are far more efficient than the central govt. Also, the premier of the Western Cape is a woman (Helen Zille) and is extremely popular

And you will find South Africans extremely friendly. We all interact with black people every day and the days of conflict are over. Cape Town is also a very laid-back city.

[adambt]

Hi JSK,
My wife and I moved to Cape Town 8 months ago and so far we've found it relatively safe. At first we were scared to leave the house because of all the horror stories, but in 8 months we haven't had any problems.
Having said that, safe is a relative term and it is not as safe as say the US or europe, you just have to look at the crime and murder rates to work that out.
You do need to be more aware than you would be at home, I don't wave any expensive items around, I don't walk around at night and I've never owned a car with "Anti Hi-jack" before! Driving around though is generally safe, we drive into one of the Townships for church a couple of times each week both night and day, which is supposed to be very dangerous, but again, no problems so far.

Work permits are hard to come by, you need to get a job offer first and the employer needs to prove that no south African can do that job. My wife doesn't work for that reason which is frustrating.

[chris rossouw]

Hi

I am currently in Cape Town and would like to meet with as many expats as possible. Any contacts would be appreciated.



Best wishes

Chris