Ex-pats homeward bound!(?)

[scatlett]

I have had many friends leave for London over the years. 4 of these friends were 'made redundant' since September last year.

Not one of them are considering returning to South Africa.

Now I don't know what the stats of these 'returning ex-pat's' are but it cannot be that big. Unfortunately we will never know this as a percentage of those that have left because there are no recorded values of the number of people that have left south africa.

 

[zesto]

... but anyone who has made the decision to leave SA and set themselves up overseas would be incredibly short sighted to pack it in when the going gets tough and move back to SA.

I guess i am short sighted then.

I don't think you understand just how bad things are overseas.

+1

The EU unemployment handout and the child subsidy and the housing subsidy is worth considerably more than the average job here in SA..

I wasn't too keen on accepting handouts..

 

[Ricard]

I guess i am short sighted then.

+1

I wasn't too keen on accepting handouts..

Sorry to hear it did work for you - But if you want to go back to SA, then you never left SA mentally to start with.

If you left SA more than 2 years ago, you will be in for quite a shock when you get there. I was really surprised how quickly things had changed when I was in SA in december. (some for the better, some for the worse)

May I ask what country/profession you are in?

 

[adrianx]

Crime etc is an issue but the west is on the decline and in denial about it and it is going to be more and more difficult to live a decent life their (just my view)

To me, that sounds like wishful thinking on your part (just my view). What do you mean that they are in denial? I know of certain dictators in the middle east *cough* Ahmadinejad *cough* that are in denial. Things ain't looking too great in Russia or China either.

 

[MacNabs]

Expats that leave to the uk on working visas normally return when the visa runs out regardless of economic crises or not. Those with british passports going to the uk are not south african expats. Expats are people living outside their country of citizenship.

So who is this article talking about then? I sure as hell wont go back to sa until i get my NZ passport. If i return to south africa with my nz passport, i am not a returning expat but now a new zealand expat living in sa.

I dont know a single south african here who is prepared to go back to south africa without their new citizenship. The risks are just too big. People go to the uk mostly to work for a period of time, even the kiwis do. The uk is full of aussies and kiwi expats working temporary. They return home in the end. South africans emigrate to the us, aus and nz, these people almost never return.

Why are these articles always based on people off to the uk?

 

[DJ...]

I have 2 family members and a good friend returning from the UK over the next 2 months, 2 of them have British passports. If they didn't have them they sure as hell wouldn't be returning...

 

[MacNabs]

I have 2 family members and a good friend returning from the UK over the next 2 months, 2 of them have British passports. If they didn't have them they sure as hell wouldn't be returning...

the 2 with british passports are not south african expats.

 

[DJ...]

Semantics. They both still hold SA passports though...

 

[Lord Anubis]

Returning whites still will face : crime, ee/aa, etc...so why return?

 

[Ricard]

Returning whites still will face : crime, ee/aa, etc...so why return?

Time heals everything. You forget the reality quickly when you leave. You only remember the good times in SA.

but many peoples VISA's are dependant on having a job. If you visa is up and you dont have a job, then the Govt wont give you another work VISA. Another aspect is the phasing out of the Working holiday that many people use, and thus returning to SA.

There are many reasons - The article is very ill researched and single sided... there isnt one testimonial from anyone for their specific reasons...

its all about a reporter needing a article-quota. Just google for all articles by the same author and make your mind up what the modus-operandi is.

 

[zesto]

Sorry to hear it did work for you - But if you want to go back to SA, then you never left SA mentally to start with.

If you left SA more than 2 years ago, you will be in for quite a shock when you get there. I was really surprised how quickly things had changed when I was in SA in december. (some for the better, some for the worse)

May I ask what country/profession you are in?

It worked out pretty well for me in the UK, in the 3 years i was there i gained excellent experience and exposure, travelled and made life long friends.

There is a time and place for everything and i came to the decision that it was time to move on. I am motivated not by money but by a challenging work environment and valuable work experience and the UK could not offer me that anymore. All the people i worked with and knew were kind of just drudging along waiting for something valuable to come along, this happened for months on end.

I am fortunate to have a British and SA passport and i have used it to my advantage, SA offers the career objectives that i seek for the next couple of years so this is where i will be.

I will however be returning to the UK or somewhere else perhaps in a few years when i have what i came here for. I will not retire in SA mainly due to the crime and the fact that it does not offer the lifestyle i will want later in my life.

I am an SAP consultant, back in SA already.

It is an individual choice at the end of the day based on what matters most in your life. Thats my 2 cents..

 

[Lydon]

All my friends living in the UK have no intention of coming home any time soon

With the 300 000 job cuts expected in the UK, they may not have any intention of coming back but instead may be forced to.

South Africa is definitely one of the places to be in the world right now when it comes to job security.

 

[CyraxHB]

South Africa is definitely one of the places to be in the world right now when it comes to job security.

Except if you can't get a job in SA.

 

[jambai]

To me, that sounds like wishful thinking on your part (just my view). What do you mean that they are in denial? I know of certain dictators in the middle east *cough* Ahmadinejad *cough* that are in denial. Things ain't looking too great in Russia or China either.

America thinks that things are going to return to what they were like before where your lifestlyle is funded by cheap credit.China is growing at 6% from 9% whereas america is in a recession.Point is the west days of calling the shots in the world are over.

 

[adrianx]

Most developing economies should have a higher growth rate developed economies. That's why they are called "developing". China started developing really fast after "opening up" just a wee bit. I wonder what "opening up" means in a business context?

 

[mac_mac74]

Well Maybe they should all go to Dubai. Everyone I meet keeps saying that place is the best place since they invented sliced bread.

if you are keen to earn a quick buck (or dollar), then yes it definately is

 

[Ricard]

With the 300 000 job cuts expected in the UK, they may not have any intention of coming back but instead may be forced to.

South Africa is definitely one of the places to be in the world right now when it comes to job security.

60 million people in the UK (2006 stats) grows at 300 000 people per year (2006 stat) -

300 000 jobs are ~0.5% of the population.Current unemployment rate is 6.1%.

 

[sand_man]

http://www.ewn.co.za/articleprog.aspx?id=5040

 

[adrianx]

Who is ewn.co.za? I've never heard of them. Don't tell me they have anything to do with 702. That station clearly has an agenda...

 

[Sarakael]

We do quite a lot of shipments from the younger generation. Guys that would leave South Africa straight after school or straight after their studies who’ve accumulated a few items abroad and have now come back to South Africa. But having said that, there’s [sic] also a fair number of people that are fairly established that are returning at the same time.

You get two types of people that leave SA to go to the UK. Those that leave to travel/gain experience etc, and those that leave because of crime/job prospects etc.

The first type will often go back to SA because they didn't truly leave in the first place. The second type hardly ever goes back.

Unemployment in SA is unofficially something like 40%, in the UK its 5%. The financially troubled times in first world countries are still exponentially better than the boom times in SA.