HOBSON1840

Let's not forget that I only left SA a year ago .. I lived there for 11 years under "black rule" therefore the theory that I left because of black rule doesn't hold any water. I left because racism is more prevalent than it has ever been (yes, worse than during the apartheid regime), city infrastructure deteriorating, corruption, crime and growing poverty.

South Africa didn't suit my lifestyle anymore - I wanted to live, work and play in the city centre without having to climb over hawkers lining the pavements, without being harrassed by beggers and street children every five minutes, without having to watch my back all the time, without feeling that I am exploring some rubbish dump and I wanted to drive around without those bastard taxi drivers everywhere.

South Africa has become a truly African experience - a shit hole ! I hope to never see another third wolrd country in my life again.

@ Haruspex - I have met many British people living in NZ who all have the same story as yours BUT I am amazed that you would leave The UK for SA ... from the frying pan to the fire ... there must be method in your madness.

newkiwi

Just want to say good luck...........Im sure its hard to not only convince yourself youre doing the right thing but having to defend your decision as well.

Of course, one difference is that if things really go badly you can go back to the UK, many south africans dont have that "safety net" and choose to leave when they get a chance.

Not everyone makes the same decision, you seem to have made yours with some thought, and you dont sound totally naive. Personally I chose to leave SA, not for any one perticular reason but really a combination of several reasons, and I am not going to apologise for that. but I am also not going to tell anybody else what they should do, apart from giving advice based on my experiences where I can.

Its quite an emotional issue, as you can probably tell by some of the posts.

I have also met many people who left the UK for a better life in NZ, and nobody calls them unpatriotic or accuses them of running away or telling them to stay in the UK and contribute to making the UK a better place.

So i guess people are just getting defensive when they are being accused of being unpatriotic and running away.

Feel free to msg me if you have any questions or such....

cheers

newkiwi

Hows it going in auckland.. i always enjoy your posts........

cheers

HOBSON1840

Hey - things are fab ! I went to Wellington a few days ago and fell head over heels in love with the city. It reminded me of the best of Cape Town, the best of The Garden Route and a bit of San Francisco thrown in for good measure

Needless to say that my bf and I will be moving to Wellington come December 2007. I can't wait .. I especially loved the waterfront and city centre .. the installation artworks are magnificent and the density is incredible. Here is a copy of the email that I sent to family back in SA .. enjoy the read (grab a cup of coffee) ...


Hello Bush Babies,

C and I are back from Wellington and I have so much news, where to begin, dear oh dear? Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? C and I caught the Air Bus which runs through the city centre to the airport every 20 minutes – it is extremely convenient and very cheap – we could sit back and relax while the bus driver fights his way through peak hour traffic. Auckland Airport’s Domestic Terminal is an eye-sore of note, thankfully they are in the process of renovating and expanding it - if it is going to be anything like the International Terminal, there is hope for us. I was getting a 70’s eye-ache so we caught the inter-terminal bus and waited at the International Terminal – there are great shops there and the restaurants etc are also far better than at the Domestic Terminal. I don’t do ugly things – sorry !

The flight down to Welly was awesome, we flew over Mount Ruapehu (a volcano) which was covered in snow and the setting sun’s rays lit the mountain up like a beacon – it took my breath away. After a 50- minute flight we arrived in Wellington. We stayed at The Inter-Continental Hotel, smack bang in the city centre and one block away from the waterfront. By now it was night-fall .. we threw our bags down and hit the streets. From the minute we stepped out of the hotel, my heart belonged to Wellington. I can sum it up as follows .. take the best of Cape Town, the best of The Garden Route and throw in San Francisco for good measure – voila ! you have Wellington.

Wellington is New Zealand’s capital city, as well as the gastronomic, arts, cultural and style capital of New Zealand. Greater Wellington has a population of 423 000 but it feels like a city of 3 million people (just as busy as Cape Town but not as busy as Auckland). It is the world's most southern capital and the only capital in the "Roaring Forties" latitudes. Wellington has more restaurants, bars and cafes per head than New York City (an interesting fact). The city also gets more sunshine than Auckland, Melbourne and London and less rain than Auckland and Sydney. Welly was voted the 18th hippest city in the world by Conde Naste Traveller magazine and ranks as the 12th best city in the World for quality of life. Needless to say that the setting is spectacular (as you will see in the photographs).

Back to our walk through the city centre – there are tens upon tens of installation art pieces dotted throughout the city’s main streets and public squares. At night, the city is transformed into a stage show of light effects (including lights on the pavements that change colour), cosy bistros that glow warmly and the streets are a-buzz with people of all ages who feel extremely safe, so safe that Wellington has been designated a World Health Organization (WHO) Safe Community - the only capital city of any country to currently be recognised in this way. C and I saw a man sitting in a quiet public square working/playing on his laptop (this must have been 10 o’clock at night). We also saw women walking down alleyways by themselves. It is just mind-boggling, even after being here for nearly a year we are still not used to seeing this kind of behaviour.

The city centre is divided into five quarters – Lambton Quarter which is the business district and high end shopping area – Willis Quarter which is the Civic heart of the city and loads of shopping – Cuba Quarter is where all the young and trendy hang out, it is also where the design and advertising industry can be found – Courtenay Quarter is where the Opera House, Theatres (the theatre where they had the premieres for The Lord of The Rings is here) etc are, this is also where you will find the bars and nightclubs. Courtenay quarter comes alive at night and boy does it pump - Thorndon Quarter is New Zealand’s oldest suburb where most of the original houses still stand, the area is full of antique shops, delis and cute little pavement cafes as well as The Houses of Parliament (aptly named the Beehive) and Embassies. Each Quarter is distinctly different from each other and one can walk from one quarter to the next without using any public transport.

On our first day we woke up real early and had our breakfast at the hotel overlooking the quaint Post Office Square. We took a long walk along the waterfront and finally reached Te Papa Museum – it is MASSIVE ! This is where we went to see The Lord of the Rings exhibit and let me tell you that I have a new-found respect for the movie. The costumes, models, props etc are extremely detailed and so magnificent. The model of Minas Tirith (the city where the final battle took place – the 3rd film) is about 7 metres tall – C and I stood there with our mouths hanging open. I wanted to get a helicopter and air-lift it out of there for my very own private collection. WOW! We spent hours looking at everything, from the concept sketches to the jewellery to the costumes to the models to the props … They had all the main actors costumes there as swell as their weapons, jewellery – absolutely everything ! You could also buy reproductions.

After touring the rest of the museum, we hit the city streets and tried some of the pavement cafes (Wellington is famous for its restaurants and pavement cafes) which are extremely European, cosy and the decor is out of this world - imagine pressed ceilings with crystal chandeliers, thonet chairs and cakes that will make you cry. Wellington’s shops, restaurants and cafes $hit all over Auckland’s cafes and shops. We discovered a heritage building that used to be the old bank but is has been converted into an arcade full of classy shops and restaurants – I can’t begin to describe this to you – boy oh boy – I have taken some pics for you but they don’t do the place any justice – in fact none of the photos will, it has to be seen. One of the highlights of the trip was a ride up the cable car but it isn’t like anything that you imagine it to be .. it looks like a San Francisco tram car but it is on rails that departs from the city centre and climbs up the hill (over 600 metres) to The Botanical Gardens. Along the way it stops to drop-off passengers who live in the suburbs – it is a tourist attraction plus a form of public transport.

By that afternoon we jumped into the car and headed out to The Wairarapa Region (an area of immense beauty where scenes like Rivendell were filmed) – it is an area famous for its wine estates and snow-capped mountains (see C’s website for a picture). Heading out of Wellington to The Wairarapa Region, the freeway hugs the coastline on one side and mountains rise skywards on the other-side (just like the drive between Camp’s Bay and Hout Bay). Then you enter a valley (The Hutt Valley) which has mountains on both sides, in-between is a massive sprawl of suburbs, a river (the same one where they filmed the elf queen trying to out run the ring wraiths while she is carrying Frodo) and parks teeming with forests. The mist had started rolling in from the harbour and it looked so amazing .. mist dancing with the trees while snow-capped mountains look down from their high, ring side seats. We went through incredible mountain passes and ended up in a lovely little village called Greytown (we were told that it is also known as gay-town). It is very quaint (very much like Franschoek or Montagu). Heading back to Wellington we took another road that follows the coast and I saw a sight that I won’t forget in a long time but first I will explain the topography of Wellington …

Unlike Cape Town where only 15% of the city is mountains, 85% of Wellington is mountains – suburbs cover the mountains with forested valleys between them, hundreds of bays and islands dotting the coast. Now back to what I saw – we came through the Northern suburbs of Wellington and passed through a valley, just as we came around the corner of this high mountain we overlooked the entire Wellington Bay to our left and to the right was The City Skyline .. a sea-hugging mist covered the sea and all we could see was mountains towering above the mist, a bit of sea, the skyline and us looking down onto the fog (like being above the clouds) – WOW ! I can’t describe it as much as I would like to but it was a sight that I won’t forget in a hurry. We drove around the coast through various little sea-side suburbs hugging little bays and then we came to The Cook Straits – the piece of ocean that separates North Island from South Island – and there in the distance we could see the snow covered Alps of South Island.

C and I had a FANTASTIC long weekend. I wanted to take more pics but 1. I forgot my larney Camera and 2. I ran out of battery power – damn !! Now we have a reason to go back to Wellington. Needless to say that C and I will move to Welly tomorrow but for one thing – the gay nightlife – it is AWFUL !!! We went out on Friday night and by 2 in the morning there was only a handful of bum boys in a huge cavern-like disco. It reminded me of a barn dance – heee haaaa and we were out of there. If the gay nightlife improves dramatically, we will be there in an instant. Here’s the link for the photographs –

Syd’s Pics: http://www.pbase.com/enigma35/wellington

C’s Pics: http://www.pbase.com/craigsyd/wellington

I will have more news soon. I wish that all of you could experience this with us – we are truly blessed. We miss you all very much and love you. Stay safe and warm.

Pablo

I'm surprised you're objecting to ID documents, because in SA you'll have to get used to them. If you become a permanent resident or a citizen you are obliged by law to have an ID document, and the process of obtaining one includes a long wait in a queue in downtown Johannesburg, and having your fingerprints taken. No room there for precious liberal sensitivites, I'm afraid.

As for concerns about medication, the concern of many people in South Africa is not the inconvenience of getting to a medical centre, but the fact that they cannot afford to buy the drugs they need to stay alive. I assume, though, that you will be putting your "champagne socialist" (your words) principles aside with that one, and going private once you get to SA. One visit to Baragwanath Hospital will be enough to convince you that it's preferable to sell your soul rather than do without health cover.

As TouristTrap has already said here, don't be too hard on white South Africans. After all, they volutarily voted themselves out of power in 1992 (in the referendum) because they thought they were doing the right and decent thing. It is merely a piece of foolish Western cant to condemn all white South Africans as "racists". (Just as it is another piece of foolish Western cant to suppose that it is only whites, and not blacks, who are capable of "racism".)

Remember Amy Biehl anyone? She was another pampered Westerner from one of the richest countries in the world who thought she knew better than South Africans about their own country.

Pablo

Pablo

I often speak to or email the few friends of mine who have stayed in SA, and I am becoming more and more aware of what is called the "boiling frog syndrome" with them. They just don't notice the appalling things they have to put up with just to get through the day. One good friend of mine, who lives in Sandton, got a flat tyre recently and had to call out the AA. She was out of Jo'burg on a trip that day, and her main concern (as any SA'n will know) was whether she was going to be murdered and/or raped as she stood by her immobilized car waiting for the AA to arrive.

I'll never forget, either, the amazement I felt when, while I was living in Jo'burg, the dainty middle-aged mother of a friend of mine calmly opened her petite handbag and pulled out a Luger, just to show me how she intended to defend herself. When I questioned her about this, she explained that her neighbour (in Woodmead) had been tied up and held by robbers for the whole night recently (but not, amazingly, murdered), and that she herself had woken up at night to find burglars in her own house, and now had a policeman sleeping over at night (this was in the early 90s, before things got bad!)

Another friend of mine is a doctor, a specialist in hiv treatment in Jo'burg. His practice has been thwarted at every twist and turn by the South African medical bureaucracy, who are still quietly implementing Mbeki's Aids-denialist policy. He is always treating terrified women who have been raped by rapists who may have hiv.

Another friend of mine, who lives in Port Shepstone, is finally getting out. He lives in a wonderful semi-rural place down there, with ray-beam security systems (a la Mission Impossible) and a gun beside the bed. Thing is, the monkeys and other nighttime animals keep setting off the ray-beam alarms, so they rarely get a proper night's sleep. And then, the other day, during the day, they found a burglar in the kitchen when they came in from the garden. They've had enough. They've off to NZ.

Pablo

HOBSON1840

Good points - one can add that ....

1.
My sister and my nephew were going to visit me in June this year but when she applied for my nephew's passport she was told that the printer was broken and that there will be a delay. After waiting for 2 months she was told that they had run out of paper - CAN YOU BELIEVE IT ? Needless to say that she couldn't come and visit me, they are only coming in December now. I believe that the out of paper scenario also affected the ID Docs. So good luck but there is always the option of buying a forged ID document in the townships as all the Illegal immigrants from other African Countries do.

2.
Be prepared to spend ALOT of money on good medical cover - the SA Government doesn't subsidise medical aid. If you can't afford a good medical aid for Private Clinics, then be prepared to bring your own sheets and blankets to the hospital because they don't provide that either. Oh and before I forget, your better half will need to bring you food as well - yup, you guessed it - they don't provide that either.

With regards to an ambulance service - think again - almost 2 months ago my mother was visiting a good friend of hers. My mother's friend suffered a heart attack and an ambulance was summonsed (my mother had to phone twice) .. they arrived and applied the defibrillater but the battery was flat ... then they attempted to administer oxygen but my mother (who was a nurse) noticed that nothing was happenning - after inspecting the oxygen cannister she came to the conclusion that the tank was empty.

I am sorry to say but my mother's friend died at home.

HOBSON1840

Hallelujah - another one has seen the light. If your friend needs any info regarding NZ or Auckland, feel free to ask.

Pablo

Thanks Syd. Actually one of their kids is already living there (in Aukland) so they're probably ok on the advice front. Glad to hear you're settling in. Come to think of it, it wouldn't be a bad idea for Haruspex to take a look at your old posts when you were posting from Cape Town under the name of Gandalf.

Best wishes as always, Pablo

Pablo

One thing South Africa does teach you: how to stand on your own two feet - a lesson the average Brit would benefit from. You phone the police - no one comes. You call for an ambulance - no one comes. You run out of money - no one dishes out handouts to you. You quickly learn to look after yourself - because the state ain't going to. It is for reasons like this that South Africans do so well when they come to the UK.

If South Africans have a jaundiced view of champagne socialists and limousine liberals it is because they have seen their untested political solutions applied to one country after another in Africa - Ghana, Tanzania, Angola, Mozambique... well, the list goes on and on. And when it all goes wrong those same Western liberals just helicopter out of the problems they have created back to safe old Surrey.

How people scoffed and sneered at Ian Smith when he predicted disaster for Zimbabwe if Mugabe got in to power. What a silly old racist fool he was! One man, one vote, one election. That's what he said. South Africans have watched as one African country after another has collapsed into dictatorship and barbarism, and the West has stood by, wringing its hands and saying, "it wasn't supposed to be like this!"

Pablo

TouristTrap

Bet that within a year they're going to be kicking themselves that they didn't leave earlier, like most expats I've met.

*Speaking of Zims, was on the phone the other day to a customer service line and lo and behold, heard a black Zims accent on the other end...made my year! - gal's been living here for 10 years and of course, missing our beloved country like crazy, but she isn't going back*

OzMiner

Please don't go there! :scared: :scared:
I've spent 6 years there and that's enough

crime: A serious crime is committed every 17 seconds in South Africa (100000 murders per year - unofficial)
Aids rate: official (5 million HIV-infected people in a population of 44 million and about 600 people dying of AIDS every day.)
employment (50%) mixed with 2 perfect Acts Affirmative action and Black empowerment



some informations about crime rate:

http://www.newnation.org/NNN-news-southafrica.html

hahahaha

I see the silly statistics season's still going. It's amazing what some people believe on these South African websites. The higher the murder figures and the less scientific evidence, the better.

OzMiner

You are living far from Hillbrow :scared: , Tembisa :scared: or Soweto :scared: in that case.

1066

Perhaps you could give us the real figures, then .....