Remote work in South Africa?

Do you work remotely in SA?

  • I work fully remote for a local company

    Votes: 37 33.9%

  • I work fully remote for an international company that has a local presence

    Votes: 17 15.6%

  • I work fully remote for an international company through a contracting arrangement

    Votes: 9 8.3%

  • I work partially remote for a company in SA

    Votes: 25 22.9%

  • I work full time in the office in SA

    Votes: 21 19.3%
  • Total voters
    109
A

Ancalagon

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Hey everyone!

My wife and I are considering leaving England - we're looking for a new home. England is just too cold, the houses too small, and the taxes too high for what you get.

We have a few options, and I'm wanting to investigate SA a bit more closely. If we return to SA, I'd prefer to not have to live in Joburg or Cape Town. I don't want to pay high property prices and want a slower pace of life. So, remote work is ideal for that, question is, how common is it? How easy would it be to get a job? Bonus points if you have stories about working for international companies where they pay you in dollars. Also, if you don't mind sharing, how much is everyone making when working remotely?

Other options include the USA and Spain. The issue with the USA is that getting in is really hard. I've got a fairly good career profile now so my chances of getting sponsorship are not zero, but neither are the chances high. I worry that if we go all in on the USA, we'd be living in England for years to come.

Spain would be much easier to get into because of the digital nomad visa and because my wife has an EU passport. Great weather, friendly people, still in Europe, but completely different culture. I mean, pretty different. I've been there on holiday and liked it but living there might be a different story.

SA is well SA. I love the place - best weather, friendly people, culture that I know well - but I worry about the future with NHI, politics, the economy, Eskom etc.
 
One detail: If you are looking at leaving the UK in part because the taxes are too high for what you get then South Africa may not be your optimum destination. This may be partially offset by the generally lower property prices in SA.
 
What about the Garden Route. Mossel bay, George, Sedgefield, etc. Best weather, one of the most beautiful parts of the country and best run local governments in SA.

I would not worry about NHI, it will stay only an election promise like EWC in 2019.
 
I have been hearing that it’s much harder to find remote work (since 2023) even inside the USA. I have a few ex-university mates in SA, and they all work for local companies, and the one who did work for a UK based company was laid off due to “restructuring”, where he fell victim because he was remote. He will likely retire now (late 40’s).
 
I work fully remote for a local company.

Unfortunately I bought a new house just before I was told I can stay wherever I want to. Initially we had to go in every now and then. So I stay in Joburg and the company is in Joburg.

When looking for a place to stay, just check who is in control in that area. For instance my parents live in Harties and sheesh they struggled with water issues, real bad potholes and such for many years.
 
fwiw I've been talking to a wide variety of international companies about remote work opportunities with them the past 2 months

something that seems to be a recurring theme is the "modern" way for remote international companies is to basically pay local pay scales, perhaps plus a few % just to hook you, it'll be in $ / GBP / EUR, sure, but the amount would be comparable to a ZAR salary once converted

very rarely do they offer their overseas salary range once they find out you're ZA based, I've found only one international company so far in my area of expertise that freely offers their $ pay range regardless of where you are based ... your mileage may vary

you can work in Spain for companies like Revolut for example, might also be worth a shot if you are currently UK based to find a remote UK job with UK salary where they are open to the idea of you working remotely from ZA ... then move only after you've secured that GBP salary
 
NarrowBandFtw said:
fwiw I've been talking to a wide variety of international companies about remote work opportunities with them the past 2 months

something that seems to be a recurring theme is the "modern" way for remote international companies is to basically pay local pay scales, perhaps plus a few % just to hook you, it'll be in $ / GBP / EUR, sure, but the amount would be comparable to a ZAR salary once converted

very rarely do they offer their overseas salary range once they find out you're ZA based, I've found only one international company so far in my area of expertise that freely offers their $ pay range regardless of where you are based ... your mileage may vary

you can work in Spain for companies like Revolut for example, might also be worth a shot if you are currently UK based to find a remote UK job with UK salary where they are open to the idea of you working remotely from ZA ... then move only after you've secured that GBP salary
Click to expand...
Yeah, from what I’ve seen, the company has to have an all-remote/distributed policy/culture to get paid similarly to their other employees. Companies that do this usually don’t pay competitive rates with places like the US and UK to begin with (one of their reasons for being all-remote).

I do have colleagues from my previous company who have moved over seas from the US and UK to other countries, where they got to keep their salary (with the caveat of getting cash instead of RSUs, and becoming a contractor). Works well until they need a new job.
 
I lived in Cape Town for 6 years, the weather is awful especially now it's not a drought. Technically my company is international now but it started locally (and my previous company too lol). I did my high school in England and university there too but struggled to find a job after graduating. The UK does give a lot of benefits generally but it's not all roses (I mean where I lived has potholes and the centre of town is a mess too).

Both Cape Town and England share small houses (at least ones you could afford). So I bought a property in the upper highway area in KZN (Grew up in PMB), after seeing how the pandemic was dealt with by most countries I actually favoured our incompetence and ideally make steps towards self sufficiency.

I don't know what the future will bring regarding career etc. but for now I'm happy with the choices I've made.
 
I've been working remotely as a web developer for years without issue. Most good devs I know work for companies abroad, especially when most local companies are determined to price themselves into the lowest end of the market pool. Our time zone is either ideal or at least workable for companies basically anywhere, and our accent doesn't invite discrimination like those in India, the Philippines etc.

Personally I'd give another spot in Europe a shot before returning to SA. Especially if you have an easy option with Spain. If you want a slow life, just live somewhere more out of the way than Barcelona or Madrid. Or you could try somewhere in Eastern Europe with a more appreciative purchasing power advantage against more mainstream parts of Europe.
 
Yeah I've noticed that remote work is more difficult to come by lately. I recently changed jobs and the selection of remote jobs is smaller.

There seems to be more EU remote jobs though.

Living in SA would likely require me to form some special arrangement with an international company. Could be difficult. Or start my own business. Doing what exactly, I don't know! Consulting or something perhaps. Would require me to build a brand etc etc.

Anyway, we won't move for some time.

Yes, I know how high the SA taxes are - you're right, they are higher than taxes in the UK.

And I know that nostalgia is part of it - SA will never be what it was when I was younger. Even the years between 2010 and 2020 were fantastic (despite Zuma). Now... maybe it has turned a corner, I don't know. But its still rotting.

Still, SA has this knack for making it easy to have a good life. Cheap property, friendly culture and fantastic weather. Hard to beat.
 
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