Researching move to SA/Capetown?

[Kelly Woolfolk]

Hello,

I have recently decided to follow my heart and pursue a lifelong dream of living and working abroad. I have traveled much although never to Africa, speak several languages and am beginning a course to restore my French fluency next week. Currently living in US doing contract work as an attorney. I am highly skilled and have a great desire to experience life in this beautiful country. At this point, I have no solid idea of how my dreams will manifest but I know that if I take the first step in faith the next shall be revealed to me. Just looking for general information on what I might consider as I take these next steps toward my dream. I am currently single with no children although I do fully expect to meet my wonderful husband along the way and have a beautiful family and home; an extraordinary life.

Thanks for your sharing. -Kelly

[Stravinsky]

Hi there and welcome

Maybe have a browse through the forum ..... there may be some questions you need to ask afterwards

[Kelly Woolfolk]

hello and thank you. i have been browsing and looking at some questions/answers of interest. at this point i am really still just dreaming but i know that is often the first step. it seems this is a good place to get frist hand information that is up to date.

[Stravinsky]

Originally Posted by Kelly Woolfolk

hello and thank you. i have been browsing and looking at some questions/answers of interest. at this point i am really still just dreaming but i know that is often the first step. it seems this is a good place to get frist hand information that is up to date.

I moderate on a few forums with SA sections, and the overall impression I get that it is a beautiful country but you need to pay a lot of attention to personal security and factor this into your final decision

[wends]

Hi Kelly
I am in a similar position to you. I'm also single and planning to work and travel abroad next year. South Africa is my first choice as I have recently spent over 18 months living there and doing volunteer work and I would really love to spend more time there. Unfortunately I can't afford to stay longer as a volunteer so I'm hoping to get a work permit as a maths and science teacher. I've already started to get my paperwork organised and I'm in touch with a couple of recruitment companies. Not sure how much help I can be but feel free to contact me with any questions.
Wendy

[Chantal]

Hi there - Glad to see you are enquiring about Cape Town. It is a wonderful city with PLENTY to offer. It is very tourist orientated so you are never short of anything to do although i am sure you have looked into this and are wanting more of a view from a person living there. I am a South African and would move to Cape Town in a heart beat. I currently live in Port Elizabeth. There are only 3 places i would consider in South Africa: P.E., Cape Town and Durban. Why NOT Cape Town for me? It rains a lot and the ocean is soooooo COLD that one can't lie on the beach in the lovely blazing sun and then jump into the ocean as you would almost freeze to death. Other than that it is perfect. If the sight of a gay realitonship urks you then brace yourself as it is the gay capital of S.A. Having said this, the women there are really beautiful. If you are not a beach babe (as i mentioned the water temperature thing) and would prefer spending weekends in the country sipping wine, then do yourself a favour and buy your ticket, just make sure you do your homework on where to live. The main thing in S.A. is about where you stay, the suburbs and the people. Oh yes you will need a vehicle as our public transoprt system leaves a lot to be desired.

[Elise]

Kelly
I think you first have to determine if you want a 1st world, 2nd world or 3rd world experience - ie how important is it to maintain a 1st world lifestyle for you? Or do you want to "go native" and move to a hut and live off the land? You said Africa - so I assume you're open to any country on the continent. If you need 1st world, I would suggest Cape Town - it is more similar to San Francisco than anywhere else, I think. If you're looking for a less europeanized part of Africa, consider Rwanda. The genocide was 10+ years ago, it's safer than Cape Town and the people are absolutely lovely. There's also Botswana, which has the highest GDP of any african country but is more "african" than South Africa (if you know what I mean). Do yourself a favour - if you can afford it, take a month or two flying between various African cities to get an idea of where you'd like to end up. Mozambique is also amazing, but desperately poor - but lovely ie tropical. Stay away from most major african cities unless you do like huge, sprawling cities with very large poor communities/townships. They can be very edgy, have a lot of excitement but are also the more dangerous/dirty places. Like I said, it all depends on what level of 1st vs 3rd world comfort you need (and the language you speak). Oh - also I head great things about Ghana, so check that out - along with Rwanda and Cape Town. Good luck!

[Pasanada]

Kelly,

IF you choose to visit Ghana, let me know; I have a Kiwi friend who runs a resort there with his brother (when Chris isn't commuting between Afghanistan, Dubai and Sudan!)