Buying guesthouse in South Africa - some questions

[Eloise]

Hi. My husband and I are seriously considering buying a guesthouse in South Africa in the next year or 18 months, and I have a few questions...

We are considering either the coasts north/south of Durban (eg Margate, Salt Rock, Ramsgate), or further north near the St Lucia wetlands. I'm organising a visit in the next few months, but does anyone have any feedback or advice about these locations?

Crime - does crime decrease significantly outside of the big cities? I have only visited Cape Town in SA and had no problems during my visits, but I appreciate that visiting SA as a tourist is different to actually living there. We are pretty cautious at home - eg, locking the car when we drive through the grotty bits of London, making sure we lock up, not walking round with loads of cash etc. Are businesses (ie hotels, guesthouses) often targeted for robberies in SA?

Visas - it looks like we can apply for a business permit as we can bring R2.5m into SA. The other criteria includes employing 5 South Africans over 2 years.

Has anyone used companies such as Global Visas and Integrate Immigration to make their applications? The process looks pretty easy - get the company's books, write a business plan, complete the relevant forms - so I was going to do this myself. However, the immigration/visa specialists say that they can speed up the process, and have connections that will make it easier. Is this necessary, or is it a waste of money? Any advice would be welcome!

Society - how welcoming are communities to Brits arriving in SA?

I would really welcome anyone's advice, or experiences. Thanks!

[Unseer]

Hi Eloise

Had a chuckle reading this post, I live in London as well but I'm a South African looking to head back home! Take a look at some of the other posts (I never thought of South Africa for one), there's some great information both positive and negative in them.

Wish I could help with the visa piece but I'm a dual so thankfully I can just go back, tell the tax man I'm there and get on with living.

In terms of the crime, it's certainly more exciting than the UK. I'd suggest Cape Town as the place to go, Durban isn't what it used to be (not that it's bad) and Cape Town is absolutely a great choice if you're looking for a stable tourist focused economy. It's one of the most beautiful cities in the world, people will come.

South Africans love brits (and all other foreigners) but of course you're going to meet people who aren't as welcomming. They will be the minority. I've seen and heard of Saffas finding it hard to settle down in the UK, find jobs etc even though London is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world.

[BeautifulMystique]

During my visits to Cape Town - the locals were very friendly. I asked my friend if they are just friendly to tourists/foreigners - apparently, they are friendly even to those around them (locals they do not know personally).

It's refreshing for me as where I am - even some of my neighbours are not friendly. I remember taking a walk in the early morning in the area of Durbanville, a lady waved and wished me "good morning" - now if I were to say that to someone in my area - they'd look at me crazy!