Is Hermanus or Sandbaai safe?

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samuelp

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Hi !

I would like to invest on a "second home" in the Western Cape area and I saw lovely affordable houses in Sandbaai and Hermanus. It seems more than a third of the population speaks English, with local services and amenities.

Are these towns relatively safe, especially related to burglaries? I attend to live here with children, for at least 3 to 4 months a year.
 
Well, you need to wait for someone who lives in those areas, but off the cuff I would say as safe as you can get in SA
 
Zwelihle(sp?) smells partly because of the abalone farm. I’d go east side of Hermanus or west of Sandbaai if it was me buying.
 
East of Hermanus there are Gansbaai and Stanford and I heard these two towns were less friendly, and Afrikaans is most widely spoken there. I will try Hermanus then, east part, or Sandbaai, west part.
 
samuelp said:
Hi !

I would like to invest on a "second home" in the Western Cape area and I saw lovely affordable houses in Sandbaai and Hermanus. It seems more than a third of the population speaks English, with local services and amenities.

Are these towns relatively safe, especially related to burglaries? I attend to live here with children, for at least 3 to 4 months a year.
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I've been in that general area for close to a decade on and off and I'd say it's pretty safe.

The most newsworthy crimes are usually tourist or solo female joggers being accosted on some of the coastal paths.
As for burglaries my neighbours' house was burgled during the day, but they used it as a holiday house. Imo this is typically from either cleaning services or gardening services giving out information.
My own property I've only had my external brass taps broken off while I was away, after having some construction done.

So I'd say it's more crimes of opportunity...Home invasions, while they're occupied, are extremely rare.
 
We stay in Onrus, so have some tips:

Sandbaai can be a little bit dodgy depending on which side of Sandbaai you look at. East of Sandbaai is the local township Zwehihle on the border. West side of Sandbaai better or potentially safer. We do have friends that stay almost on the border with Zwehihle and don't seem to have any issues - but still something to consider.

I'd rather consider suburbs like Onrus River or Vermont. Then in Hermanus itself, Northcliff, Eastcliff, Voelklip. Awesome area to stay in!
 
InTheWild said:
We stay in Onrus, so have some tips:

Sandbaai can be a little bit dodgy depending on which side of Sandbaai you look at. East of Sandbaai is the local township Zwehihle on the border. West side of Sandbaai better or potentially safer. We do have friends that stay almost on the border with Zwehihle and don't seem to have any issues - but still something to consider.

I'd rather consider suburbs like Onrus River or Vermont. Then in Hermanus itself, Northcliff, Eastcliff, Voelklip. Awesome area to stay in!
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Opinion on fishershaven?
 
Kieppie said:
I've been in that general area for close to a decade on and off and I'd say it's pretty safe.

The most newsworthy crimes are usually tourist or solo female joggers being accosted on some of the coastal paths.
As for burglaries my neighbours' house was burgled during the day, but they used it as a holiday house. Imo this is typically from either cleaning services or gardening services giving out information.
My own property I've only had my external brass taps broken off while I was away, after having some construction done.

So I'd say it's more crimes of opportunity...Home invasions, while they're occupied, are extremely rare.
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totally agree! opportunity crime seems to be the highest, and with all the building going on, it tends to increase
 
Grubscrew said:
Opinion on fishershaven?
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good question! I never really got a handle on Fisherhaven tbh - bit of a mixed case of houses, the property seems to be more affordable comparing to the suburbs closer to Hermanus. I think @flytek stays around or close to there - he might have some insights?
 
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InTheWild said:
good question! I never really got a handle on Fisherhaven tbh - bit of a mixed case of houses, the property seems to be pretty affordable comparing to the suburbs closer to Hermanus. I think @flytek stays around or close to there - he might have some insights?
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thanks exploring Hermanus on P24 and I saw Fishershaven across from Arabella and next Another Wine Estate estate.
 
Grubscrew said:
thanks exploring Hermanus on P24 and I saw Fishershaven across from Arabella and next Another Wine Estate estate.
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Yeah, it's insane hey.. Arabella insanely expensive, and so is properties in Benguela Cove (wine estate with properties). Not sure if Hawston plays a factor in Fisherhaven lower valuations..
 
Hermanus is probably as safe as it gets in SA. That said I won't buy a property in Sandbaai. It is very close to Zwelihle and the industrial area. I just don't like the Sandbaai vibe.

I own a house in Westcliff for the past 10 years and except for once when an idiot tried breaking into the garage, never had any other issues.
That said, if I had to buy a property in Hermanus and money was not an issue, I would buy a house in either Fernkloof Estate or Kwaaiwater as a first choice and Voelklip as a second choice.

I still prefer George/MosselBay to Hermanus though.
 
Affieplaas said:
Hermanus is probably as safe as it gets in SA. That said I won't buy a property in Sandbaai. It is very close to Zwelihle and the industrial area. I just don't like the Sandbaai vibe.

I own a house in Westcliff for the past 10 years and except for once when an idiot tried breaking into the garage, never had any other issues.
That said, if I had to buy a property in Hermanus and money was not an issue, I would buy a house in either Fernkloof Estate or Kwaaiwater as a first choice and Voelklip as a second choice.

I still prefer George/MosselBay to Hermanus though.
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Also the noise in Sandbaai closest to Zwe is a big issue for people that side. But agree generally with your sentiment on the good areas. Anywhere from the CBD to the east is decent and safe as anywhere in South Africa imo. I live in the CBD after about 12 years in Vermont and it suits me perfectly here. I’d never move anywhere else in the country.
 
Affieplaas said:
Hermanus is probably as safe as it gets in SA. That said I won't buy a property in Sandbaai. It is very close to Zwelihle and the industrial area. I just don't like the Sandbaai vibe.

I own a house in Westcliff for the past 10 years and except for once when an idiot tried breaking into the garage, never had any other issues.
That said, if I had to buy a property in Hermanus and money was not an issue, I would buy a house in either Fernkloof Estate or Kwaaiwater as a first choice and Voelklip as a second choice.

I still prefer George/MosselBay to Hermanus though.
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The issue with MosselBay and George is they are far from Cape Town and local population speaks mainly Afrikaans. We are no Afrikaans speaker in the family
 
Lived in Voelklip for two year/s. Was pretty safe back then ( 98 ~ 00 )
Have heard that it’s not so great anymore with quite an increase in crime since those years.

But to be fair, Im sure that’s pretty much applicable to everywhere in our rainbow nation.
All in all, I found Hermanus to be an awesome place to live.
 
Onrus has traffic issues in the morning and workers hanging around but is otherwise great. Chanteclair has views and niether of the above issues. Northcliff or anything East of the CBD is better than the rest. Afrikaans is the main language of the town but not insermountable. Stanford could work if you like really small towns. I would think its hard to find a nicer town than Hermanus in SA. I currently rent at Benguela and 50% are foreigners with 10 to 20 bar investments. They all prefer it here for their money than anywhere else. I will be moving to Eastcliff soon for a convenient time raising kids near schools and the CBD.
 
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