We are Saffas in Ireland considering moving:
We are struggling with the weather and cost of living, and haven’t been able to adjust to either of these factors well. While the Healthcare and Schooling is decent, there is a huge backlog.
We lived in Cape Town before, and it feels hard to match that lifestyle we had - casual hiking, coffee culture, affordable eating out options, travelling around the Western Cape province, beaches, mountains, social groups with braais/barbecues and dancing.
Where have you relocated to that feels like a good and accessible lifestyle for you and your families?
Thank you
Ahhh the classic developing world/southern europe to northeren eu troubles
Its either this or that, unless you can luck out and find yourself in australia or california
The European answer is Ticino
Hvar?
Tbh you are not going to get a SA lifestyle in Europe. Everything about Europe is a downgrade in terms of lifestyle. So you have to choose between lifestyle or the reasons you left SA.
Source : me, a South African who lived in Netherlands and moved back to SA for a better life amongst other things
Europe isn’t a monolith. Are you seriously telling me that you are richer in ZA than CH?
In purchasing power parity terms, most likely yes.
PP is a weird way of looking at things imo.
I can probably save twice what a South African working in my profession earns. I can go anywhere, do anything. I’m not limited to Switzerland forever.
It matters to an extent. Wages relative to CoL impact your ability to spend & save. That’s something I’ve been racking my brain about when it comes to USA -> N. Europe. That move for me would be at least a 50% paycut & higher taxes, not to mention higher cost of goods. It would be a downgrade in both savings and luxuries I could afford.
I’m guessing your argument has more to do with currency valuation, that saving some CHF or Euro would outpace saving more Rand.
I mean, I really do not want to seem insulting here, but you sound like the kind of SA immigrant people who are serious about leaving the country end up avoiding.
You have a major case of rose-colored glasses.
You know very well why you left SA. The criminality, the poverty, the unemployment, the lack of opportunities, the load shedding, the corruption. Sure, you left behind the beaches and braais too.
If you want “affordable” - read: Cheap, then you can move back to third/second world countries.
Have you thought about moving to Wimbledon?