How do software developers afford Cape Town rental

StrontiumDog said:
^^ what areas are those? Difficult to gauge without knowing the areas.
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Fish Hoek, Noordhoek, Sun Valley, Kommetjie. The effing sticks. There are little to no (very few) business opportunities here without working the other side of Ou Kaaps.
 
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Let me put it this way, I now understand why almost every parent in the area is adding onto their houses for their kids :D
 
It's awkward when you think you found a bargain for an apartment in greenpoint or seapoint listed for R3K and when you phone they inform you it's per day not per month.
 
Nefertiti said:
Cape Town is selling and setting itself up like that. See Silicon Cape initiative http://www.siliconcape.com/, though they not the only group to promote that.
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I have followed the Silicon Cape site the past 6 months and found them not very active like they were before. The occasionally promote the coworking space in Woodstock and list some training events of 3rd party companies where you pay a grand and up to attend.

Was hoping there would be more free type/pay for food&drinks/low cost networking or learning events.
 
zaozzie said:
I just want to rant some more

Where are all these high tech jobs for software developers in Cape Town? Silicon Valley the average tech salary is over $100K per year. In Cape Town the average tech salary I've found is a tenth of that but room rental matches that of Silicon Valley. Even if you are lucky and earn a very good salary R30K to 40K which is very rare and then you deduct tax, decent apartment rental, car repayment, car insurance, medical aid, food cost you don't have anything left.

Hard to understand how a software developer can be successful living in Cape Town.

Right now the movie the Interview sums up how I feel about Cape Town.


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Cape Town might be touted as a tech city a but I find this label is used by real estate entrepreneurs who convert a few buildings in Woodstock in co-working spaces making use of the tax incentive of Cape Towns Urban Development Zone scheme.
Lots of people owning multiple properties renting our apartments or houses for crazy amounts of money to tourists, converting houses and renting out to students, to the stay at home family building and renting out a granny flat.

It seems everyone who has grown up in Cape Town has a a finger in real estate.
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In Silicon Valley, the rental prices are right up there. My apartment there can rent for about $3k, so ~R35k/m (I rent it for a bit less, since I have good long term tenants), and it is a small (90 sq.m) apartment (2 tiny bedrooms and bathrooms). There are places that rent for less, but they really tend to be in pretty k*k areas. Given that at $100k/y you will only see about $5.4k per month, that's pretty steep. Fortunately most people actually earn a whole lot more than $100k, but for those starting out, rental is still really hard there.
 
cguy said:
In Silicon Valley, the rental prices are right up there. My apartment there can rent for about $3k, so ~R35k/m (I rent it for a bit less, since I have good long term tenants), and it is a small (90 sq.m) apartment (2 tiny bedrooms and bathrooms). There are places that rent for less, but they really tend to be in pretty k*k areas. Given that at $100k/y you will only see about $5.4k per month, that's pretty steep. Fortunately most people actually earn a whole lot more than $100k, but for those starting out, rental is still really hard there.
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Some 2 bed apartments in Cape Town City Center also go for for R30K+ pm.
http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-rentals-...each-road-sea-point/1001225736030910255741509
http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-rentals-...with-stunning-views/1001225729330910255741509

PS. I am just curious but you must be a famous SA tech person if you have an apartment in Silicon Valley
 
I recently sold my house in Edgemead in under a week. Decided Cape Town prices are ridiculous and bought an equivalent house in Hermanus for 60% of what it would cost in Cape Town. Used the difference to settle debt.

I now drive through one day a week for meetings and get equipment. The rest of the time I work from home.

No traffic and an awesome environment to live and work in.

Win win.
 
Wait untill you have kids and need to move to the catchment area for a good school - house prices are 10% more just because they are in the school area.....
My brother-in-law bought a house in JHB for 1/4 what we paid and he earns a lot more than me. No wonder he drives a fancy BMW and I dont ;-)
 
biometrics said:
I recently sold my house in Edgemead in under a week. Decided Cape Town prices are ridiculous and bought an equivalent house in Hermanus for 60% of what it would cost in Cape Town. Used the difference to settle debt.

I now drive through one day a week for meetings and get equipment. The rest of the time I work from home.

No traffic and an awesome environment to live and work in.

Win win.
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If it wasn't for my wife driving a car to work I would have considered the same thing as I recently realised Philadelphia is as far from the CBD as Brackenfell is.

Sadly I don't have the luxury of commuting only once a week but being on a motorcycle makes it easier.
 
zaozzie said:
Some 2 bed apartments in Cape Town City Center also go for for R30K+ pm.
http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-rentals-...each-road-sea-point/1001225736030910255741509
http://www.gumtree.co.za/a-rentals-...with-stunning-views/1001225729330910255741509

PS. I am just curious but you must be a famous SA tech person if you have an apartment in Silicon Valley
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Those apartments are much bigger with TVs, utilities, etc. included, and they're in very popular areas. My apt. is in a nice area of San Jose, but if you want the best areas, a similar apt in places like Mountain View, Menlo Park, Los Gatos and certainly Palo Alto would be much more expensive.

I'm not famous. :) I'm fairly well known within my industry, but that's about it.
 
So glad I own in Pinehurst/Durbanville, and my offices are 3km away :)
 
Unfortunately for most people, you can't have it both ways. Either you want the great lifestyle and struggle for it in CPT, or live with some peace of mind that you're somewhat more financially secure at the cost of the coastal lifestyle. Which is why many of us choose to rather stay in JHB and holiday once or twice a year.

To those who have made it, kudos.
 
SauRoNZA said:
If it wasn't for my wife driving a car to work I would have considered the same thing as I recently realised Philadelphia is as far from the CBD as Brackenfell is.

Sadly I don't have the luxury of commuting only once a week but being on a motorcycle makes it easier.
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Philadelphia and surrounds have also become expensive. You can't find a house in Melkbos for under R2m now and it's still 35 km from town.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
Unfortunately for most people, you can't have it both ways. Either you want the great lifestyle and struggle for it in CPT, or live with some peace of mind that you're somewhat more financially secure at the cost of the coastal lifestyle. Which is why many of us choose to rather stay in JHB and holiday once or twice a year.

To those who have made it, kudos.
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This.. I actually worked out that after I moved up (struggled for 5yrs in cpt) I've done more in 3 yrs in jhb, heck even 2, than I did here and I'd still need to change jobs every 2-3yrs or drastically increase role I order to 'catchup'. The sick part of it all is that applying for my current job in Cpt never worked, but it Jhb it got it easily albeit I had zero additional experience since leaving varsity for the skill set required.

Now that's scary & sad to me and I'd never ever advise anyone to start working in Cpt as a result. Additionally because I now am 5yrs behind peers, I live like someone 5-7 younger than me and thankfully I sort of shifted my life accordingly.. But it catches up with you and so I need to sort of catchup.. Which I worked out requires job hopping every 2-3 years minimum and given Sa economy I reckon perhaps emigration is best. Sucks but such is life.

Btw I calculated the other day that I'd essentially need to earn 5-10k more post tax in order to live a similar lifestyle in Cpt purely because property is nearly double in similar suburbs. So yah.. Lots of planning and thinking about the future and how to get to where I want to be in life.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
Unfortunately for most people, you can't have it both ways. Either you want the great lifestyle and struggle for it in CPT, or live with some peace of mind that you're somewhat more financially secure at the cost of the coastal lifestyle. Which is why many of us choose to rather stay in JHB and holiday once or twice a year.

To those who have made it, kudos.
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Or just live a little further away.

biometrics said:
Philadelphia and surrounds have also become expensive. You can't find a house in Melkbos for under R2m now and it's still 35 km from town.
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Yeah I'm about 35km away now.

I wouldn't say Philadelphia is expensive. Yes base cost is high but you get bit plots with big houses there.

Was just considering it as an option for a hardcore lifestyle change while still doing much the same distance.
 
Any place with overseas tourists are overpriced. It's no longer a local market, it's a global market in terms of supply and demand.
 
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