Still undecided!!!!

[WhenweB]

Well its been a year since I returned to England from my holiday in Cape Town (where I was born) with my British husband and 9 year old daughter and we have still not made a decision about moving back to SA.

Initially we were adament that we wanted to return but once out of SA and in UK I started to stress about crime and education and finding jobs. My husband is very high up working in a good company (project manager / engineer) in UK so giving up his job to go to SA was a major problem. He is a white British man in his mid 40s who would probably have had problems due to the affirmative action laws... perhaps not though. I had contacted the company I worked for in insurance before leaving Cape Town 14 years ago but they had just been taken over by another large broker and had no positions available. I could, however do childminding as I am qualified in that too.

Suffice to say that apart from sorting out my SA passport in my married name we have not actually got any further with our move.

I was wondering if anyone on this site has moved from UK to SA (Cape Town) within the last year and what their experience has been like please. Am I worrying unnecessarily or have my concerns been justified.

If we move to Cape Town we would be living in the Milnerton / Table View area with my daughter attending the private school in Blouberg or we would be living in the Southern Suburbs with my daughter attending Wynberg Girls School where I was for 5 years. Wynberg Girls High have just had their 22nd year of 100% Matric Pass rate so my mother's opinion that education standards are dropping seems a bit out of sinc with that!

Looking forward to hearing your experience and any advice you could give.

Thanks and happy new year to you.

[lavidarachel]

Hi,


I can't answer your questions now, but in 2 weeks we are moving from the UK to JHB as my partner has an engineering job there (power stations). We've been to SA twice before, though always Cape Town, and we have friends in Delft (from the first time we visited). If there's any info I can give you once we are there, I'd be more than happy to.

Rachel x

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[DannyBoy]

It's a real shame that the South Africans who go back, don't post on this blog how things are for them once they got back. One or two people post a week or two after getting back about how "wonderful" it is to be back in the "land of milk and honey", but then you never hear from them again.

I was also surprised that a lot of the companies I had worked for whilst in S.A, had either disappeared competely, or also been taken over by other companies.
The Cape Town job market does not look very promising though, in my opinion.

[lavidarachel]

My other half said it would be much harder for him to get a job in CT. For this one he was approached through LinkedIn, and is employed by a US company who are contracted to carry out work by Eskom. Of all the job sites we looked at, every one seemed to have engineer posts more than anything else.

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[Jem62]

I returned to CT 2years ago after 20+ years in the UK - the quality of life is quite amazing, enhanced by beautiful weather. I can't still get over the novelty of driving down the road to visit my family, to be able to hang out with people whom I love and who love me is deeply emotionally rewarding, nothing can compare with it or replace it. As far as your daughter is concerned, you would have to earn a great deal of money in the UK to afford the quality of education available at Wynberg Girls. I speak as one who has trained prospective school heads in the UK. A close friend of mine who was the Chief Civil Engineer as Lambeth Council was headhunted by the City of Cape Town, afer nine years, he is back in CT and loving it. South Africa is an emerging economy, there are opportunities to self start if you are so inclined, plus our democracy is showing increasing signs of maturity, don't take too much note of the 'nosedive' crowd who see only the negative in SA.

There are no guarantees, this is a leap worth taking, the rewards are very worthwhile, don't talk yourself out of precious years with your family.

[LegalMan]

I cannot comment much since I am biased towards moving to South Africa. However, Jem62 above has very valid points, and this part is definitely true:

There are no guarantees, this is a leap worth taking, the rewards are very worthwhile, don't talk yourself out of precious years with your family.

The fact remains that the pass rate, crime rate, standard of living, your chances of getting a job and so many other things all depend on the exact suburb you live in and the exact attitude you have, not the town or city, and not the attitudes of others.

Cape Town is a lovely place to stay, and actually, so are most cities in South Africa. It's a wonderful place. If you are committed, and have your goals and dreams set on SA, you'll find that job, live a good life and enjoy things that you can't get anywhere else.

[WhenweB]

Thanks everyone. Rachel I hope all goes well for you in Jhb. I lived there for one year in 1992 and would never go back but I lived in Braamfontein near the centre and it was a hellhole. Sounds as though you will be in the better suburbs and a friend of mine who moved from Cape Town to Jhb loves it there. Horses for courses. My husband is on linkedin so hopefully he too will be headhunted. He has Prince2 project management qualifications so can go into most sectors although mechanical engineering in the automotive / fastening systems is where his experience has been for the last 12 years.

All the comments about quality of life and family / friends are relevant and true.... thing is that my friends in UK are very good and I have a very strong network of local people whom I would really miss but I also have 3 very close long standing friends in Cape Town and my brother and aging mother (who is a worry as lives on her own an hour out of CT) so really torn.

Anyway thank you for your comments - much appreciated. Will keep on pondering all the whys and wherefores and pros and cons and hopefully reach a decision soon!!!!

[lavidarachel]

Forgot to add, if your husband wants to add mine on LinkedIn, they may be able to share contacts etc, and he can let him know of any opportunities.x

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[DannyBoy]

Originally Posted by LegalMan

The fact remains that the pass rate, crime rate, standard of living, your chances of getting a job and so many other things all depend on the exact suburb you live in and the exact attitude you have, not the town or city, and not the attitudes of others.

How would the "Suburb you stay in" determine whether you get a job or not?

Are you saying Skillset, Industry, AGE and BEE have nothing to do with finding a job?

What about all the 50 year old S.African males who left S.Africa and now live in Atlanta and Texas, because they were forced out of their job due to AGE and BEE.

What about the quotas at universities (including UCT) which prevents "previously advantaged" youngsters, from persuing their dreams?

Jem62 returned to S.Africa after 20 years in the UK, and only then discovered how wonderful it was to be near family. What was her reason for leaving S.Africa in the first place and what changed during that time period? It must have been tough living in the UK for 20 years if she was so unhappy.

There are other things to consider if you have children.
For instance the ongoing Road Carnage that occurs everytime there is a long weekend in S.Africa. Where else in the world do you read of 1400 people being killed on the road over the festive season?
Just from the blogs on this site alone I have become aware of falling education standards (even at Wynberg Girls), deteriorating medical services, strikes which prevent commuters from getting to work in the city (taxi strike blocking the highway), stones been thrown onto vehicle windscreens on the N2, and on and on.

BEE is a reality in S.Africa and what if the job you or your spouse gets "doesn't work out" (as Jem62 said..there are no guarantees).
I would do more investigating if I were you. Speak to other people who went back or who are leaving South Africa. It is very expensive to sell up everything, go back to S.Africa and then find that you want to go back to the U.K again because things are not all hunky-dory in S.A.

But who knows, if you live in the RIGHT SUBURB, maybe the road carnage, strikes, ANC corruption, lack of opportunity for the "previously advantaged", BEE, won't affect you at all.

I wish I knew what was the RIGHT SUBURB to stay in. I was planning to move back to S.Africa in April. I soon discovered why so many of my friends and associates had left their jobs and been forced to open a bed and breakfast in their house.
And it wasn't because they lived in the WRONG SUBURB.

[lavidarachel]

Can I ask what BEE means?

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