Hahahaha!! Wise wordsOriginally Posted by DenSweeP
Hahahaha!! Wise words
Lol very true except why am I proving myself to anyone :P who cares! millions more living in SA. bore snore!
The only thing I'm proving by staying in SA is the fact that I don't currently have the resources available to go anywhere else.
Taking that into account though, if you're looking in terms of being fittest, sometimes survival requires that you move to a new location. No point in trying to prove your survivability from inside your house while it's on fire rather than going outside first
I'm not going to take any digs at Omega or anyone else for leaving the country - as a matter of fact the minute I'm sure I can get out I'm going, and people can call me a coward and a traitor and whatever else they want to - the concept of loyalty to your country of birth is an outmoded concept that should have faded away with the Cold War - but if it gains me peace of mind and security then I'll take it as a fair trade, with profit on my side.
Financial considerations aside, I would consider moving abroad if I could find somewhere that really would make as happy and content as SA. Climate. Language. Sport. Infrastructure. Food. Everything plays a role and quite honestly I can't find somewhere that meets all my needs. Maybe I'm just picky, but please, where else is the world can you get what SA can offer? And I'm not talking about crime. I mean, where in one country can you go see elephants and lions walking in the wild freely and still speak english and/or afrikaans? Or drive for 6 hours and go swim on some of the worlds' best beaches? Or go skiing on some mountain slopes in the winter? Or have a braai with some boeries and chops with mates drinking a balck label? Or go to a rugby stadium with your mates and lots of biltong? Or go to the west coast and enjoy the namaqualand? Or go up to the Kalahari and enjoy the desert scenery. Or go to Mpumalanga and enjoy the beauty of the mountains and forests there? And what about being able to go wine testing on some of the best wines in the world and then go to the top of the world's most recognisable mountain in cable car and afterwards enjoy sundowners on Camp's Bay?
I'm not knocking anyone leaving SA. Everyone has their own reasons, but I think sometimes people are too hasty in their decisions or go for the wrong reasons. But hey, each to his own! For now I'll stay and enjoy everything my birthplace has to offer!
I could answer most of those questions for you - honestly.
Australia can probably offer you most of those - including the braais, if you find yourself in a community with a lot of expats (there's a town on the North Coast which has a pretty large expat population I've heard). Climate is identical in most respects, they speak English, which honestly is the only language I even speak these days (I dumped Afr as my first language when I left school), they have pretty epic beaches, they are sport fanatics about the same sports (meaning you can still go to the stadiums with your mates), you can go braai with any of the millions of expats you find there, their infrastructure, education, medical, legal systems are in much better condition than ours.
And as much as everybody in SA seems to hate the Aussies, I wonder if anyone has ever considered that maybe it is because they share so many similarities to us. Maybe I'm generalising a lot, but I've spent time with some Aussies, and apart from the accents, it was pretty much like spending time with a group of South Africans. Especially once they get boozed up.
Australia also, surprisingly enough, has quite a robust wining industry - perhaps not world class like SA's, but I don't drink wine, so it doesn't bother me in particular.
A couple of things are endemic, certainly, they don't have Table Mountain, elephants, lions and so on, but they have Ayer's Rock, the Great Barrier Reef, kangaroos and friggin Koalas. Who doesn't like Koalas?
I understand the argument you're making DenSweep, and I think it's great that you have pride in the country - but every country is unique in it's own way, and every country has things to offer that others don't. But for me, the benefits of living in a first world country would outweigh the benefits of staying here - and I would also be free of the constant news of corruption, crime, tenderpreneurship, lying and contradicting government officials, racial rhetoric and Julius Malema.
[EDIT] Actually - get rid of Malema, and I might change my mind a bit
I have survived here for 25 years and I'm bored with not only the country but the people in it. I'm tired of getting maybe 1mb/s instead of 20.
Sometimes survival isn't enough, maybe because deep down I worry that 1 night I'm going to wake up with some guy standing over my wife with a panga and I would be helpless. Yes bad things can happen anywhere but I'll take my chances with the first world rather than the 3rd.
Infrastructure? Here? Seriously?
None of those things interest me, I've seen them all. I don't like sport, not all that out doorsy and if I need to show my kid Lions or whatever SA is a 12 hour flight away.
Hehehe Ok just a little bit off topic here - I hate koala's! Do you know how bad they stink!?!
On topic, If my immigration was approved I would be living in Aus right now. Simple reason being I spent 6 weeks in the country. I loved it! Its similar to SA. I was in their wine district, tasted their wines and have to admit there are some lovely wines out there. I mean my sister and her husband and kids live in a small town about 2 hours from Adelaide. They know fair few Saffa's since they are all over the show.
The things that impressed me the most was how people stuck to speeding limits, not drinking when driving (I was the designated driver whilst there since I dont drink much at all - a glass of wine maybe and it gave my sister and her husband time to enjoy their time out of the house). The fact that they still dont lock the house unless they go out for more than 2 or 3 hours. The fact that their kids can play outside all day with no worries. They just keep the gate to the yard shut so that the kids dont go play by themselves at the river that is across the road.
The fact that they have started 2 successful business with no major issues and the loans from the banks are more than manageable. And yes I love kangaroo's! Even when its a kangaroo steak on my plate :P
You don't have to hold them - admire them from a distance
But mostly, yeah - I get what you're saying - the Aussies are very, very similar in terms of lookout and personality - that's why we're so competitive. Think about how most high-schools have an "enemy" school they always have to beat - it's usually close by and you're mates with people there - but when it comes to sports days there's blood involved.
If an immigration official had to come to me today and tell me "You're in, mate!" - I wouldn't even stop to pack my bags
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