Sign up with GoogleWhile I love the Cape... its changed so much in the past 20 years I can't say I'll miss it. It's gone from a quiet resort town to a melting pot of sorts. It's moved in so many directions -good, bad, rudderless, but never dull. What's it like Living up there?
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So after 20 years in the Mother city - I'm off to White River.
- Thread starter Hosehead
- Start date
Nicodeamus
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Witrivier? Good luck!
Now you really just had to go and do that. I can't stand them. My worst daymare and nightmare combined. I need heavy duty class 6 meds on the spot when I sight one, but I thought they were all out towards Barberton as some oke claims he's forever shotgunning holes in his office roof.
I can't be in Nelspruit because of ex-inlaws and as the kid goes to a school in white river I don't know if living in hazyview is a doable school run commute ie drop/fetch to White River If it is I would gladly look in that area. My work is pretty flexible.
Can't tell if that's a good or bad thing. :erm:
azbob
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It's been a melting pot since the day van Riebeeck landed...
Sure in1993 when I arrived but Prior to 1994 elections, my girlfriend refused to move down to the Cape from Pretoria as she said it was just a provincial holiday town, and Sandton/Pretoria had all the future. Sandton City was quite young and I rented a 2 bedroom in a brand new complex directly below the Southern Sun on Fredman Drive for R700. Furnished it up and realised I'm on my own and so I just left her, got a vicious dog, loaded an avis combi and drove down and got a beach house for R4000 PM. Mind you I can still count the number of rental agents on one hand and half of those responded to queries from JHB/PTA didn't really have a clue as to what a long term lease was. Now Camps Bay was my landing point and my hood ever since and we had just two restuarants- only one of which still stands (Bayside) and One night spot still standing, Dizzys. and both local watering holes the tennis and bowling club. The actual camps bay club closed several years ago where you could get a Windhoek for R3 There was no traffic back then and Camps bay boasted the worlds oldest practicing pharmacist who would give a cheery wave each morning as he stood outside his pharmacy dressed in his sunday best. He didn't have much to sell except some Kodak film rolls and sunscreen and god forbid you wanted Aspirin. He'd want a prescription in triplicate. (Well almost) That's all gone now and Aarons corner now hosts a pizza place and several outlets. Surfing was the life. It was locals only. and the internet finally rolled in with Iafrica offering atrocious dial up connections but laughable now, at the time it was like supersonic. It was a time when everything was on the net before great chunks disapeared, It was a time before the rest of the world discovered cape town (or South Africa for that matter) propertys were old and falling to bits and then the Estate agents got together and bought offic space on the promenade which was only single story at the time owned by one promenent Jewish family (and still is) and they sent the price of property skywards. By the beginning of 2000 Camps Bay was literally 100% foreign owned.
SauRoNZA
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To be honest Camps Bay is hardly a representation of Cape Town as a whole and I would agree in itself it's a holiday resort.
It seems nobody there needs to work to maintain a life and isn't wanting for anything so it's hardly a surprise.
It seems nobody there needs to work to maintain a life and isn't wanting for anything so it's hardly a surprise.
You must remember pre 1994 Cape Town was about as developed as East London still is today. It was a very quiet town whch was primarily a holiday destination for vaalies- regardless of suburb. Sometime in the late nineties Upcountry people poured into Cape Town. I remember Durbanville in 1995 as having not a single development. You could stand on the golf course and not a single development was on any of the hills -Imagine that if you will. The growth, development and influx to Cape Town over the past 20 years has been absolutely staggering. Then you have Half the eastern Cape living here.
Camps bay is home to sunbird foreigners and to large Business owners/ Corporate leaders and many of our medical specialists They work very hard and employ much of the private sector so naturally they are extremely affluent. The Platinium mile is not called that for nothing. But for me it has always been a barometer of change. It's a mirror on the prevailing economic conditions. You see if the restuarants are full or empty or if tourism is up or down. At the moment there are aprox 300+ homes for sale and rentals are aplenty in the 30K + price brackets but reasonable rents are scarce. The old families are mostly all gone - priced out by exhorbitant rates when they lived on fixed incomes. It's a lot more than a holiday resort!
Other Pineapple Smurf
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I had to move to the Transvaal for 3 years to learn how to love the Cape.
Before I left, I hated this dump. Really hated it. 3 years later I came back and I want to be buried here. I believe that all Capies should do the same.
Correct. My bad. Memory fades with time.
I suppose most of the Cape Town element of the forum were not yet born or were in diapers in the early 1990's
so it quite hard to show the young guns how things have changed
@cbrunsdonza yes I agree all Capies should want to be laid to rest here but they're stealing all the gravestones now and any brass or metal.
You can't trust the crematoriums, I mean I gave my dog to be cremated and the box I got back was heavier than the dog.:erm:
I'll settle for a burial at sea within sight of table mountain wrapped in sailcloth!
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