Gaborone - would you?

Sinbad said:
You know, they really have the right idea. They've forced de Beers to move their diamond cutting operations into the country. Upskilling, benefication, value adds rather than just exporting raw materials.

There are areas of Gabs that have all the infrastructure laid out - roads, power, water etc - no houses though. This is in preparation for population expansion as companies move in.

They've found fat coal deposits, have signed a contract to EXPORT coal to south africa and are building two powerstations to remove their dependence on Eskom. They are actively pushing the transkalahari railway - again because they view SA as a risk and want to be able to function without us.


Max tax rate - 25%? Yes please.
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That tax rate is low now because they get most of their money mining. Any project in Botswana has to be done with the government. No ifs and buts. Basically, half nationalized, half private.
 
chrisc4290 said:
Lived there for 9 months about 15 years ago. Was ok, but I missed Cape Town, the people in CT. I found it a bit basic. While the people were quite friendly, I always thought of myself as a bit of an outsider. One place I could easily settle down, although completely different from Gaberone and SA, is Laoag City in the north of the Philippines. My friend has a sugar cane and rice farm outside and has a wonderful lifestyle. I have been there many times and spent a year there in 1999/2000. He has a house he says awaiting my arrival. It is also one of the cheapest places to live on earth. Climate like Durban, but not so intense.

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I think we all have a place in mind where we'd like to go and live if we could.

Mine is Pondicherry in India, which is a former French ruled part of India:

A remarkable degree of French influence in Pondicherry exists to this date. Pondicherry was designed based on the French (originally Dutch) grid pattern and features neat sectors and perpendicular streets. The town is divided into two sections: the French Quarter (Ville Blanche or 'White town') and the Indian quarter (Ville Noire or 'Black Town'). Many streets still retain their French names, and French style villas are a common sight. In the French quarter, the buildings are typically colonial style with long compounds and stately walls. The Indian quarter consists of houses lined with verandas and houses with large doors and grills. These French and Indian style houses are identified and their architecture preserved from destruction by an organization named INTACH. The use of the French language can be still seen in Pondicherry.

Pondicherry still has a large number of Indian and a small number of non-Indian descent residents with French passports. These are descendants of those who chose to remain French when the then-ruling French establishment presented the people of Pondicherry with an option to either remain French or become Indians at the time of Pondicherry's transfer to India in 1954.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pondicherry#French_influence
 
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ghoti said:
That tax rate is low now because they get most of their money mining. Any project in Botswana has to be done with the government. No ifs and buts. Basically, half nationalized, half private.
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Friend who is a pharmacist in Gaberone says the govt and Police are a bit high-handed. He was stopped one night coming back from his pharmacy as he had to collect a prescription for his near neighbour which he had forgotten to take home, and was locked up until the next morning. The police wanted to know why he had this bottle of pills in the car but would not let him get his hospital accreditation out of the cubby-hole. When he got back to his car, it had been left unlocked and stripped. When he complained to the station commander, he was told he was making it all up. Even the hospital administrator did not want to get involved. He was not maltreated by the police but said they would not listen to a thing he said.
 
blunomore said:
I think we all have a place in mind where we'd like to go and live if we could.
Mine is Pondicherry in India, which is a former French ruled part of India:
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I was in Pondicherry in March 2007. Was oppressively hot and humid. Wife liked it though. I think there is more of a Muslim influence nowadays, and the old quarter is very run down. The French Heritage Govt Museum is interesting. We were the only people there, but I like museums.
 
chrisc4290 said:
Friend who is a pharmacist in Gaberone says the govt and Police are a bit high-handed. He was stopped one night coming back from his pharmacy as he had to collect a prescription for his near neighbour which he had forgotten to take home, and was locked up until the next morning. The police wanted to know why he had this bottle of pills in the car but would not let him get his hospital accreditation out of the cubby-hole. When he got back to his car, it had been left unlocked and stripped. When he complained to the station commander, he was told he was making it all up. Even the hospital administrator did not want to get involved. He was not maltreated by the police but said they would not listen to a thing he said.
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Every country has its good and bad points. This still sounds better than here, where bribes would be solicited.
 
chrisc4290 said:
Friend who is a pharmacist in Gaberone says the govt and Police are a bit high-handed. He was stopped one night coming back from his pharmacy as he had to collect a prescription for his near neighbour which he had forgotten to take home, and was locked up until the next morning. The police wanted to know why he had this bottle of pills in the car but would not let him get his hospital accreditation out of the cubby-hole. When he got back to his car, it had been left unlocked and stripped. When he complained to the station commander, he was told he was making it all up. Even the hospital administrator did not want to get involved. He was not maltreated by the police but said they would not listen to a thing he said.
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Yes as an expat you need to watch your step especially. However, the payoff for rigorous, over the top policing is an almost non-existance of violent crime.
One dude told us of one of his employees who was mugged walking through a construction site at night. Bunch of guys grabbed her, took her purse and disappeared into the bush. Purse was found the next day, everything intact except the cash. She was completely unhurt, obviously just a bit shaken.
Another guy suffered a home invasion. He and his wife were tied up. He was hit twice with a truncheon in the arm, to subdue him. No other harm. Same situation in SA - what would have happened?
 
Sinbad said:
Any reason?
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Last time I checked being a mo carried the death sentance there. One of my friends in college was from Botswana and she used to hang with our gay possie....but not sure if she was just very open minded compared to her fellow countrymen. *shrug*

Other than that I could very well enjoy the slower pace there. But the above is very much a deciding factor for me.
 
chrisc4290 said:
I was in Pondicherry in March 2007. Was oppressively hot and humid. Wife liked it though. I think there is more of a Muslim influence nowadays, and the old quarter is very run down. The French Heritage Govt Museum is interesting. We were the only people there, but I like museums.
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I was there in 2010 and the French quarters looked wonderful. Lots of renovations going on.

I also enjoyed Auroville, just outside of Pondicherry.
 
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No Thanks, go there about three times a year and it is way to slow a life for me.

Everything is a mission to import and power failures make you think that Eskom ain't so bad.
 
The slow is what appeals. I've done my time in London... ;)
Imports yeah. But with friends/family close by, it's not a trainsmash. As for power... well they're building new power stations faster than SA is ;)
 
I do a bit of work in Gabarone for weeks at a time and it is a whole lot better than Gauteng in all except one way, not much entertainment. That said if I can't move to CPT, Gabs would probably be second on the list now that I'm considering leaving this city...
 
What is the schooling like? To be honest it would be nice to be part of a growing society instead of one hellbent on tearing itself apart.

I'd probably choose a first world country to move to as first choice though.
 
BobsLawnService said:
What is the schooling like? To be honest it would be nice to be part of a growing society instead of one hellbent on tearing itself apart.

I'd probably choose a first world country to move to as first choice though.
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First world would be first choice, but like I said - family is a constraint. Her parents are getting on a bit, and she has kids she'd be leaving behind.

Private schooling is excellent. The school we're looking at does Cambridge GCSE and A levels.
Even the state schools are pretty good.
 
Ockie said:
One of my friends in college was from Botswana and she used to hang with our gay possie....but not sure if she was just very open minded compared to her fellow countrymen. *shrug*
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It has nothing to do with the citizens of Botswana. It is government policy. This is no way implies that the majority of citizens agree with it.
 
ghoti said:
I intend retiring to the Philippines. People there are wonderful. Living is so cheap. R5 for a KFC zinger meal AND they batter the chips!. I lived there for half a year and loved it. I was in Manila so the traffic was insane. The weather is bad. Did you go in their rainy season or their summer? In summer it cooks like heck. You will need to live your life in aircons. I also love the malls. Theyre the biggest and most modern I have ever seen. Its also a country that doesnt hate white people. Americans liberated them twice (once from the spanish and once from the japs). So its a foreign country that actually welcomes whites. A strange feeling to not be persecuted because of your skin color :D Another bonus is most people speak English :D
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Manila is a typical eastern city, not unlike Bangkok with appalling traffic. The north is much more tranquil. The rain was amazing, I have never seen it come down so hard. I got there in October yet even in May/June it didn't go much above 33 deg. Not all that much cooler in Dec/Jan though. As you say, white people are welcomed with open arms.
 
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