Transferring to SA in Feb. from USA

[plett4128]

Coming from my husband who has lived in SA all his life his advice for the best areas to live in Pretoria are Capital Park, Garsfontein, Muckleneuk and Centurion.

[lmalin]

Thank you for the information, I'll start checking on the internet for rentals in those areas.

Originally Posted by plett4128

Coming from my husband who has lived in SA all his life his advice for the best areas to live in Pretoria are Capital Park, Garsfontein, Muckleneuk and Centurion.

[Rod Pringle]

I assume your husband's employer has obtained professional assistance with the legal immigration issues - work and residence permits for himself and the family.
I would also recommend professional relocation assistance to help you orientate and settle. The American International School of Johannesburg is located to the north of the city towards Pretoria. as is Dainfern (golf estate) and other fully secure gated communities. I would strongly recommend that you ask your relocation service provider (paid for by the company) to search out suitable homes in that area, and to arrange for you to speak to the AIS. The fees at the AIS are expensive and it is usual for the employer to fund them.
Joburg is a very friendly place and I am sure that if your son attends there and you live in one of the gated communities you will make lots of friends, both American and local and have a great stay here in our city.
Crime is an issue to be respected rather than feared, and if you take suitable precautions and remain aware at the points of danger you will have a safe and fear-free time. Again your husband should ask for a securit briefing from a relocation company - avoid the security companies as it is their business to scare the life out of you so that you will make extensive (and expensive!) use of their services.

Originally Posted by lmalin

We're hoping to get more details from my husbands employer today. It's hard to know what we will be responsible for until we know what they have planned for us. We're also hoping that, since they have done this kind of international relocation a lot, they will be handling all the little details of permit, housing, etc. etc..

We are all looking forward to the adventure but I'm not sure my son, 16, will be as excited when he finds out his gaming on XBox live will be sketchy at best. We think it's great and hope he will spend his time doing other things than gaming. The power outages will cause some issues with that also.

I think we are going to be in the Pretoria area, any suggestions on where we should look for housing?

Thanks!

[lmalin]

Thanks Rod, my husbands employer is pretty familiar with the relocation process in many foreign countries and we are scheduled for a security and training one week class before we relocate so I'm sure they will cover everything we need. We are all very excited to relocate, the stories of crime and car jacking does not intimidate us. I'm sure Joburg is no different from a large citie in the states like Detroit, Chicago, New York or DC. You just have to be aware of the areas that are not as safe and always be conscious of your surroundings.

Originally Posted by lmalin

Thank you for the information, I'll start checking on the internet for rentals in those areas.

[giddydalvi]

hi, i just read ur mails. i will also be shifting to joburg soon. would liek to know whats' teh ebst area to stay???

[Rod Pringle]

Originally Posted by giddydalvi

hi, i just read ur mails. i will also be shifting to joburg soon. would liek to know whats' teh ebst area to stay???

Joburg is a large city of 3.5 million. It is very spread out, and including Soweto covers an area the size of Greater London. It has beautiful treed suburbs to the north, where most expatriates live, unless they have good reason not to, such as the location of their place of work.

Which suburb you choose will be a matter of budget and personal preference. The highly secure gated communities (also quite expensive) are all located in the far north of the city, and involve a difficult commute by personal transport (no public transport can be used by expatriates) to work daily. There are many modern apartment blocks in Sandton, if that is near your workplace, and the apartment lifestyle suits you. Otherwise most suburbs have secure compunds of modern houses with small yards and sometimes communal sports (swimming/tennis/gym) facilities. Most house are rented unfurnished, but apartments are usually rented fully furnished.

I suggest you ask your employer for some assistance from a professional relocation company - at least a short Orientation Programme to give you an idea of what is where - better still some home-finding or settling-in assistance.

[giddydalvi]

my husband's office would be in sandton or sandown. we thinking of taking up a place near the office near. we not looking for house but ya furnished apartments. just want to check, have read so much about the safety issues, want to know are apts safe to stay? and also how is the sandton area? also personal transport is a must rt?
can u also help me with small but important things like, malls, what time do they shut? is it safe to travel alone in the evenings?
also, what can one do for leisure? just generally if you could help me with basic things like apartments etc and how much would they cost (rentals) in areas like sandton, sandown?
also, car buying/renting info? would u know any website whr i could find?
yes, will def chk with my husband's employer also but just doing my homework too:-)

[Rod Pringle]

Originally Posted by giddydalvi

my husband's office would be in sandton or sandown. we thinking of taking up a place near the office near. we not looking for house but ya furnished apartments. just want to check, have read so much about the safety issues, want to know are apts safe to stay? and also how is the sandton area? also personal transport is a must rt?
can u also help me with small but important things like, malls, what time do they shut? is it safe to travel alone in the evenings?
also, what can one do for leisure? just generally if you could help me with basic things like apartments etc and how much would they cost (rentals) in areas like sandton, sandown?
also, car buying/renting info? would u know any website whr i could find?
yes, will def chk with my husband's employer also but just doing my homework too:-)

To answer your questions as simply as I can (remember there are always exceptions and personal preferences):

Apartments in the Sandton Central Area cost from R12,000 to R20,00 per month upwards depending upon location (the expensive ones attached to, or very close to the Sandton City / Nelson Mandela Square shopping centre) and size/quality.
Apartments are essentially secure and "lock-up-and-go" so that you don't have to worry if you go away for a weekend to the bush, The Cape or similar.

Personal transport is essential in Joburg - at least one car between you. You could only manage with one if your husband doesn't need his during the day, and you can drop him and keep the car some days at least

Shopping malls in Sandton open at 09.00 and close around 18.00, later on some days of the week. They are mostly open all day Saturday and until just after lunch on Sundays

Cars are rather more expensive than in some other parts of the world. Suggest you try Carfind.co.za - New and Used Cars for Sale, or Autotrader South Africa ? Buy and Sell Used Cars, New Cars, Used Commercial Vehicles, Bikes, Plant Farm Machinery and Leisure Vehicles to get an idea of new and 2nd hand costs for typical models sold locally. A couple of points about cars:
Strongly recommend you buy a 2nd hand car through a reputable dealer - preferrably the franchisee of the brand concerned. Avoid the classifieds.
Better buys in terms of resale value are those that are produced locally - Toyota (top) Nissan, VW, BMW, Mercedes, Ford. Stay away from French, American or Korean imports as a rule.
There are obviously restrictions as an expatriate as to the amount that you can finance and repayment period when buying a car.
Need to obtain a Traffic Register Number before you buy a car
Need an International Driving Permit in order to register a vehicle, although you can drive on a foreign license, so long as it is in English and has an integral photo

As to leisure and travelling in the evenings: obviously there are "no-go" zones as in any major city, but citizens of Joburg like to go out to movies and restaurants as much as anywhere in the world - in fact more than most places, so that says something about perceived safety. Leisure in Joburg is very social and also sporting based - whether watching or participating . It has a wonderful climate and a great many sports clubs (17 golf courses in the greater city area), and people spend a lot of their weekends away in the bush or other tourist areas.

Another website that may help your research is Corporate Relocations - Relocation Simplified - it has some other background info, and FAQs

[giddydalvi]

hey thanks so much for the quick replies and great information. will post my queries as and when they cross my mind.
one more thing i wanted to chk with you, about car jacking is that very common? and which are the complete no no areas?
also, trying to understand n find areas that r closer to stay near sandton, in case sandton feels like a pinch on the pocket.
also, one more thing wanted to check with you, i'm an indian, would there be any indian shops etc that you would know of.
thanks!

[Rod Pringle]

Originally Posted by giddydalvi

hey thanks so much for the quick replies and great information. will post my queries as and when they cross my mind.
one more thing i wanted to chk with you, about car jacking is that very common? and which are the complete no no areas?
also, trying to understand n find areas that r closer to stay near sandton, in case sandton feels like a pinch on the pocket.
also, one more thing wanted to check with you, i'm an indian, would there be any indian shops etc that you would know of.
thanks!

Slightly more economical areas near Sandton Central: - Morningside, Sandown, Strathavon, Parkmore, Atholl, Rosebank, Bryanston, Wendywood, Hurlingham, Craighall Park.

Car Hijacking - not as common as before. Smash and grab more common - prevented by putting handbags, laptops and shopping in boot/out of sight.

No-Go areas: - Alexandra, Soweto, old CBD (parts of), Hillbrow, Yeoville, Orange Grove, Diepsloot, and other traditiionally black townships, unless accompanied by a professional guide.

Indian Shops - a great many, but not too many in Sandton - more in the older suburbs and Fordsburg.