I read an article at M&G Online this weekend that says that according to Moving companies, real estate agents and nonprofit groups more white South Africans in their late 20s who are abroad are coming back to SA.
Now obviously it would be easy for me to say I can believe this and slot it in to the SA Rocks apparel as proof. But I can’t just do that. Let’s be honest, everyone here seems to be talking about leaving.
So my question is this, what have you heard? Are you noticing more people wanting to leave, talking about leaving or doing it? Me being “The SA Rocks Guy” makes it tough to go out with family, friends, colleagues or aquantances and not talk about leaving SA, am I staying, why and the rest of that discussion. So I hear it alot but are people around you talking about it?
Here’s a snippet from the M&G Online article:
Moving companies, real estate agents and nonprofit groups say more and more white South Africans in their late 20s and beyond are returning to South Africa. Hungry for their own culture, eager to raise children near their own families, and encouraged by their country’s economic potential, these adults are leaving their successful careers abroad for an uncertain future at home.
“We’ve been happy and enjoying ourselves ever since the day we’ve been back,” said Prins, who moved to Johannesburg last October. “I felt like my quality of life improved dramatically.”
Prins and her boyfriend Mark Kirkness, a civil engineer, may not have made the decision to come home if weren’t for the Homecoming Revolution, one of several South African organisations dedicated to persuading expatriates to come back. Kirkness received a job offer after attending a career fair put on by the group, which also provides candid information about the South African economy, security conditions and crime, and hosts networking dinners and other events for those who have returned.
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July 31st, 2008 at 8:23 am
Hello,
There is a simple explanation. The UK have change the immigration rules and made it much harder for South Africans to either come over for the first time or apply to stay longer in the UK. More and more South Africans are leaving not by choice, but due to difficulty in obtaining a VISA. I must add, that not all seems to be sad and there are a number of them who prefer going back to SA to staying in the UK and it is just a nudge they needed.
July 31st, 2008 at 11:09 am
My wife and I came back home after I had spent 8 years in London, having pounds is really an advantage over here and you do outgrow the City after a long time, new challenges , new priorities etc, your choices are either to move to outter London (deepest darkest chaville where you can afford to buy a place to live, even with the property price re-adjustments) or move to the UK (even darker chaville) or you can try to get a yank visa(job transfer) or an aussie one,both of which you can apply for here … oh yeah and the economy aint half as great over there as it was a year or 2 ago and last years London summer really blew….
August 3rd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
My (English) wife and I are moving to Durban in October for good. We are pretty successful and have most benefits available at our disposal in the UK. Both professionals our quality of life is second to that of professional South Africans, and that I am very sure about. I am from South Africa and have spent on and off 5 years abroad, my parents live in the UK with 2 of my sisters and thay have lived out here for 12 years. I am not being pushed out of the UK as I have a British Passport and am going through hell so my wife can get an SA Citizenship so she can work back in Durbs. At every turn English people who are friends of ours express their envy at our choice and here too there is a stong undercurrent of discontent amoungst the middle classes. Life gives one choices, but sometimes you you are born with better choices and more options. My SA residency is my silver spoon – NOT my British Passport. My wife can never undersatnd why SA produces so many moaning whities living in depravity in England!
August 4th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
It does feel like there’s another wave out of here. I thought Anthony Brink’s recent piece in the Sunday Independent, headlined ‘The importance of being here’, captured a lot of what we are all talking about and thinking about. You can read it here: http://tinyurl.com/55lojg
Annes last blog post..‘It’s watching them commit suicide that pisses me off’
August 4th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
oh yeah, that reminds me, seems to be an awful lot of people with british accents walking around the classier suburbs of Natal, Gauteng and the Slaap Stad since I last lived here, they don’t seem to moan half as much as the idiots at the walkabout with their Springbok jackets, oh yeah and they are having a better lifestyle than most of there friends left in UK could ever in a million years dream of, thats for sure…
August 5th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Reasons, what are the reasons that young people are leaving?
Two auditors, CA, highly skilled, top junior auditors at a top auditing company – both emigrating. Recently married, no children at time of leaving.
Why? I asked them. They cannot guarentee their children a life of safety and security. That’s not me saying that, that’s their reason.
Not AA, not BEE, nothing do with political stability; just the huge issue of crime. They were 2 of the 8 pre-30!!!!qualified people I know of emigrating in the last year or so.
Note, emigrating, not contracts.
What would make them come back I asked, because the country needs people like you? A massive, continous drop in crime, nothing else, and they would be back in a flash, if the country wanted them.
August 6th, 2008 at 4:27 am
We are not in the UK, but have been living in NZ for over a year. We are planning our move back to SA middle of next year. Me and hubby both IT Professionals and we realized our skills are still needed in SA. We also realized that SA has more to offer and crime is an issue, yes, but tell me of a country (other than NZ and Australia) where crime is not an issue. We would like to contribute to SA and to help make it a better and safer country, where possible.
August 6th, 2008 at 7:47 am
DS – that’s fantastic. It is very uplifting to hear of people who are willingly and rationally coming back to SA!
Congratulations and Goodluck when you arrive!!
August 6th, 2008 at 8:29 am
DS – that’s what we need, more skilled people returning.
Perhaps you can just expand a bit on how you personally are going to make SA “a safer country.”
If you can make such a massive difference, than we need thousands of expats like you to return.
August 6th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Thanks to DS coming back home and bring back your skills is just what SA needs, and hopefully a lot more do come back its the only way we are going to grow our beautiful country and get it to the standards of other countries, that every one wants us to be!!
August 7th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Yeah, it is a tricky one – where do we start to make it a safer place. My plan is to get out there, to see who is trying to do what and to get involved. I know Helen Zille is getting the word out there with a mission, and we just want to be a part of it and to really try an help to fight crime. I think the best place to start would be the rural, poor areas, as they are the most affected by crime, and to support the people out there with a mission, whichever way possible. I know, sounds like a farytale, but you’ve got to start somehwere.
August 7th, 2008 at 10:18 am
I made the move over to the UK shortly after I finished my studies – mainly because of job opportunities (or the lack thereof). Even with a first class degree at a top university, I earned more as a waitress than with any entry level job I was offered.
I WILL come back though – not this year, and possibly not the year after. I am not sure when I will come back, but I know that one day I will. My heart will always lie in South Africa. I will come back when I am in a position to get more of an entry level job in SA, and I hope that my experience overseas will allow me to contribute positively to South Africa…
To be honest, out of all the South African’s that I know over here, I don’t know many that don’t want to eventually go back.
August 13th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
In 2002 I moved to England for family reasons. Back in Cape Town I had a successful career in Hotel Management and Tourism. My CV has been called excellent, but here in the U.K. I have been unable to find a job. No U.K. experience has been the most frequent response.
Now I am planning my return to S.A., which of course is not easy without the prospect of a job. Any suggestions?
Email me at: dannu@hotmail.co.uk
Ulrich Dannecker