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Old February 11th, 2008 #7
Alex Linder
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Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 45,756
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Default Re: Hope for Scorpions?

So you want to leave South Africa - do you know what your in for?
There seems to be a larger percentage of South Africans wanting to leave the country than since the early 90's - I wonder how many really know what to expect if they do leave?

Having lived in SA through the early 90's and the so called "chicken run", I saw more than a few South Africans leave the country for a better life.
I saw a great deal of them return later in the decade.

It's funny, because I was also part of the large influx of British people into South Africa during the 70's and 80's - and witnessed how many Poms ended up going back home and also how many made the country thier home successfully. I suspect a fair percentage of younger members of this forum are the children of those poms who came over - or perhaps Germans, Italians and other Western European nations.

The bottom line, leaving the country you call home is painful.
I don't care who you are, what your circumstances are and how much you plan - it's going to hurt, big time.

It may not hit you in the first few months, maybe not even the first year, but it will get to you.

I know, I've moved back and forth both ways so many damn times, I reckon I've finally become immune to it

It hurts most when you realise the country you've decided to move to, the place where the grass was supposed to be so much greener, turns out to have just as many problems as the place you left.

You end up trading lifestyles.

While you'll be more secure in country X, your standard of living may also drop.

You may have held a senior position at work in SA, in country Y you could start again at the bottom.

Your credit rating in SA may have been fantastic, in country B, it's non-existant and even getting a lease on rented property is an uphill battle.

Then we get the cultural differences. If your a fairly thick-skinned outward going type, you will adapt fairly quickly. If not, your in for a rough ride. Even between SA and the UK, for instance, there's a large cultural difference - you'll never really "get" the British if you haven't lived in the country for a significant amount of time. I feel certain it's exactly the same in Australia, Canada, New Zealand or the USA.

God knows, it took me 10 years to assimilate in to South African culture back in the 70's and 80's.

Related to all of this, is that old chestnut "location, location, location"
It will make or break you.

Lets face it, if circumstance sees you end up on a British working class council estate - a grim, grubby, grey endless stretch of ugly houses and ugly people - you're hardly likely to enjoy life.

Think it can't happen?
Think again!

These grim estates exist in every country and you don't have to fall too far down the career ladder to end up in one, simply out of economic neccessity. I know a number of South Africans stuck in dead end jobs, in crappy suburbs, kidding themselves that life is better.

You'll also find that in these types of areas, crime is a big problem.

So, are you really ready for it?

I'd say, if your young and single, or a young couple without kids, with a good education and career prospects, you have nothing to lose, so long as your outward going and confident.

If you've got a family, that's when it gets tricky - it'll be a struggle, but many have succeeded.

If your pushing 40? - obviously, the older you get, the harder it is.

To finish, it all depends on your point of view - is South Africa going to the dogs, or is it still going through very painful growing pains?

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