Grass not always greener

Randy_The_Squirrel said:
And before you think its nice and wonderful in AUS, think again. I have a close friend in Mornington Peninsula. He says my internet connection at home rocks, compared to his. Over there, Telstra is worse than Telkom, and YouTube uploads are very difficult to do, because of their great firewall and nanny state spy machine. You can also forget about keeping a car once it gets to a certain age. Want to have a good old SA style braai in your yard? Forget it, you could be fined, especially in the dry season. And you cry when its 32 degrees here.. Try 41-43 degrees C in the hottest summer months. Many South Africans hate aircons... what are you going to do there, when you need one to survive?

So before you even consider this, remember, you've really got it good here. I am well-traveled too, I would say that if I really get forced out of here, i would settle in Asia, that would probably be the closest I can get to living in SA even by a smidgeon.
Click to expand...

Some areas here have poor internet connections - just like most areas in South Africa have rubbish internet connections.

With Telstra, for $30 prepaid a month I get 1.5 gigs of data plus 1 gig worth of night time data, $100 worth of international call time and I'm currently sitting with $700 worth of local call time.

I have uncapped ADSL2+ for $69 a month which is pretty cool. I get 10-15Mb/s.

As for the great internet firewall - I'm going to need to apply for government security clearance in a few years so I'll be avoiding the scat, watersports and fisting porn but fortunately standard porn gets me off so I'm cool with that. Prostitution is legal, well regulated and safe though so maybe that makes up for it?

Fire bans are in place for maybe a two or three weeks in the year during heatwaves. BBQ's are definitely a national past time. My local petrol station sells braai wood - just like my South African petrol station did.

Temperatures can get to 40+ for a few weeks during the year. It's not a big deal.

Cars are affordable here. You can pick up a safe, reliable 5-10 year old car for $2,000 - $4,000 and it is very common for 17,18,19 year old kids with P plates to own their own cars because of this. Otherwise it doesn't really make sense to drive an old car because new cars are affordable.

There are other issues but those you listed are buls#!t.

Also, Asia is absolutely nothing like South Africa.
 
Randy_The_Squirrel said:
I have tried the overseas thing. Not for me I am afraid.
Despite the problems, this country does offer the best kind of lifestyle there is.

NZ is one of the worse places to move to. And in case you are wondering, that door is now shutting on South Africans- I know this because my relatives live there, and we have tried unsuccessfully to get their immediate family over. They have not said it, but the writing is on the wall they have had enough of us. Australia will eventually follow suit.

And before you think its nice and wonderful in AUS, think again. I have a close friend in Mornington Peninsula. He says my internet connection at home rocks, compared to his. Over there, Telstra is worse than Telkom, and YouTube uploads are very difficult to do, because of their great firewall and nanny state spy machine. You can also forget about keeping a car once it gets to a certain age. Want to have a good old SA style braai in your yard? Forget it, you could be fined, especially in the dry season. And you cry when its 32 degrees here.. Try 41-43 degrees C in the hottest summer months. Many South Africans hate aircons... what are you going to do there, when you need one to survive?

So before you even consider this, remember, you've really got it good here. I am well-traveled too, I would say that if I really get forced out of here, i would settle in Asia, that would probably be the closest I can get to living in SA even by a smidgeon.
Click to expand...

That's a very glass half empty way of looking at things...
 
Randy_The_Squirrel said:
So if you live there and are happy there, fine by me. If I may ask then, what are you doing here, this is a South African forum
Click to expand...

This seems a bit passive aggressive, consider the number of South Africans on this forums who aren't based in SA right now.
 
Plenty friends still going to NZ, doesn't seem as doomy as some make it out to be .....


As for London - hell no, up north is the place to go apparently. Quieter, cheaper and better butchers according to some meat lover buddies.
 
Voicy said:
This seems a bit passive aggressive, consider the number of South Africans on this forums who aren't based in SA right now.
Click to expand...

+1.

Besides, I never got the memo where this forum was exclusively for locals, or locals living abroad. Thought it was even open to Hillary Clinton, if she were so inclined.
 
Ho3n3r said:
+1.

Besides, I never got the memo where this forum was exclusively for locals, or locals living abroad. Thought it was even open to Hillary Clinton, if she were so inclined.
Click to expand...

Oh! Hell no, we have more than our fair share of local looneys without encouraging others.
 
Nanfeishen said:
Oh! Hell no, we have more than our fair share of local looneys without encouraging others.
Click to expand...

OvlMqLW.png
 
There's a common theme of trying to replicate the lifestyle you have in SA, abroad. I think that's the mindset which brings about all these issues.

Be ready to embrace a new way of life and culture. Adapt and thrive.
 
Randy_The_Squirrel said:
I have tried the overseas thing. Not for me I am afraid.
Despite the problems, this country does offer the best kind of lifestyle there is.

NZ is one of the worse places to move to. And in case you are wondering, that door is now shutting on South Africans- I know this because my relatives live there, and we have tried unsuccessfully to get their immediate family over. They have not said it, but the writing is on the wall they have had enough of us. Australia will eventually follow suit.

And before you think its nice and wonderful in AUS, think again. I have a close friend in Mornington Peninsula. He says my internet connection at home rocks, compared to his. Over there, Telstra is worse than Telkom, and YouTube uploads are very difficult to do, because of their great firewall and nanny state spy machine. You can also forget about keeping a car once it gets to a certain age. Want to have a good old SA style braai in your yard? Forget it, you could be fined, especially in the dry season. And you cry when its 32 degrees here.. Try 41-43 degrees C in the hottest summer months. Many South Africans hate aircons... what are you going to do there, when you need one to survive?

So before you even consider this, remember, you've really got it good here. I am well-traveled too, I would say that if I really get forced out of here, i would settle in Asia, that would probably be the closest I can get to living in SA even by a smidgeon.
Click to expand...

What a bizarre post. :confused:

Random disconnected anecdotes, unsubstantiated generalisations etc.

Randy_The_Squirrel said:
Personally its not for me because its too laid-back, it reminds me of that rural dorpie in the free state. There's not much to do, and the other factors mentioned in posts above pertaining to lifestyle and culture changes don't fit with me.
Click to expand...

Are you thinking of a different country, perhaps? NZ has an absolute boatload of things to do.

Kilgore_Trout_Redux said:
I have uncapped ADSL2+ for $69 a month which is pretty cool. I get 10-15Mb/s..
Click to expand...

Heh, for $69 I get 100mb uncapped fibre. :whistle:

Mephisto_Helix said:
Plenty friends still going to NZ, doesn't seem as doomy as some make it out to be....
Click to expand...

Except for Mount Doom.
 
It comes down to the individual.

I spent two-years working in the UK and when I came home I was homesick. The little Yorkshire town I lived and worked in just clicked with my ''soul'' and I missed it terribly when I came home.

One of my school mates sold everything and went to Australia. He hasn't been back in 6-years, not even to visit family. He says he has no interest or reason to come back as Australia, in his opinion, is what SA could and should be.

As for those that say there is nothing to do in NZ. Its only a mecca for extreme sport enthusiasts.
 
Last edited:
Ho3n3r said:
+1.

Besides, I never got the memo where this forum was exclusively for locals, or locals living abroad. Thought it was even open to Hillary Clinton, if she were so inclined.
Click to expand...

Not a chance In hell. What are you people trying to do, inviting that evil woman over. She's also fat, and doesn't do emails well so how do you expect her to use this complicated forum thing
 
I find it strange that people will move, take a job at a lower level, and then attribute their woes to things not being greener on the other side. It's got very little to do with where you are, and more to do with your own personal job prospects. Unless of course, the argument is that unlike London/UK, SA is brimming with opportunity, which I find very hard to believe (especially on an IT forum).

When I moved to the US, I took a knock in lifestyle, because I just wanted to get my foot in the door. Far less disposable income, and we were penny counting again for the first time in years. It never occurred to me that things weren't greener here - the reason my lifestyle took a knock is because I moved from a managment position to a developer position, not because of the brownness of the local grass. There was so much opportunity, that after a few years I worked myself into a position where my lifestyle was on par, then a few more, until exceeded where I was in SA, and I had all the benefits of living in a first world country, and a few more years after that, I'm wealthier than any salaried developer in SA could ever hope to be.

TL;dr is that I believe the causal factor isn't being attributed correctly.
 
Nanfeishen said:
Example of what exactly ? looney for not being a fan. Please dont be "one of those" who simply pastes pics of something without actually stating what it is you really want to say, its highly annoying.
Click to expand...

OK, I'm sorry that you're too thick to interpret what the pic means.

It means that who I mentioned was just an example.

I would tell you I'd draw a picture for you if you still don't understand, but it's clear that you do even worse with those.
 
thestaggy said:
It comes down to the individual.

I spent two-years working in the UK and when I came home I was homesick. The little Yorkshire town I lived and worked in just clicked with my ''soul'' and I missed it terribly when I came home.

One of my school mates sold everything and went to Australia. He hasn't been back in 6-years, not even to visit family. He says he has no interest or reason to come back as Australia, in his opinion, is what SA could and should be.

As for those that say there is nothing to do in NZ. Its only a mecca for extreme sport enthusiasts.
Click to expand...
When people first start believing that they are too good for this country then they seldom change that particular view. I think whether you should move depends greatly on your profession. If you are an educated professional person then I think this country will still be great for you.

You simply will not live in another country that both has such a low cost of living and has such a skill shortage. This makes it so that the good working professionals have are rare enough to as to make the demand of their skills far outweighs the supply.

It all depends on whether you as a person can gain entry to these professions
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X