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  1. #81

    Default Re: Australia, New Zealand or Canada?

    It certainly isn't the easiest thing to do. It is a financial stretch and a huge wrench leaving friends and family. Like SH we sold everything and left with suitcases and shipped a few boxes. You will many things about SA, it is a beautiful place to live and its people are unique and its places will always tug at you to return . But we found there are many benefits that outweighed the stresses and frustrations of living in SA. You make up the cash losses very quickly and realise there is more to life than the worries we lived with. My kids have had a good education in SA, and they both walked into exceptional jobs that they wouldn't have got close to in SA. But make no mistake, it isn't easy and compromises are made.

  2. #82
    Moderator Skaaphaas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Australia, New Zealand or Canada?

    My standard of living has gone up, even though, comparatively speaking I may be earning less than I did in SA.

    As Tetelestai once put it, you don’t have the “background stresses” that we became used to in SA. The state of the roads, the traffic, the road deaths, load shedding, whether or not the load shedding schedule is correct, crime, broken sleep due to noises that need to be investigated, the exchange rate, etc.

    In one moment all of those are gone. I have other stressors but the amount is greatly reduced, to the point where daily life is almost boring in it’s predictability. I have more free time on my hands than ever before, even though I work full-time in the CBD. I have more things to do outdoors that are mostly free, which I would have paid for in SA. I pay a similar percentage of tax, so it’s not like the costs are just hidden somewhere else.

    I have more freedom than I had in SA, even though I’m not free to carry a gun here. While there is much more regulation here, your freedom in SA is not so much curtailed by the state as it is by the crime situation.
    I’m not blind to Australia’s limitations. But it didn’t become a 1st-world country by chance, and I’m grateful for being able to have moved here.

    Oh, the old joke about Aus having too many Aussies... I am not a well-traveled man, but thus far everyone I have met has been friendly and welcoming. Be wary of judging a country by what you see on the TV or the internet only. Oftentimes it’s a very skewed picture.
    Sent electronically, thus not signed.

  3. #83
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    Default Re: Australia, New Zealand or Canada?

    whats the reality of 48 year old unqualified, but own and run a medium sized manufacturing entity ( circa R120mill per annum with 180 full time employees for 10 plus years ) getting into aus, nz, or canada without using boat loads of cash as the only means of gaining entry?

  4. #84
    Moderator KK20's Avatar
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    Default Re: Australia, New Zealand or Canada?

    500k USD will get you into USA
    live out your imagination , not your history.

  5. #85

    Default Re: Australia, New Zealand or Canada?

    My wife is a British citizen and I am a Mauritian citizen... but here we still are. Maybe we're just getting old. Dunno. For all its issues, I still love this place... and a lot of the people. In 1994 I won a green card in the lottery. I sometimes wonder... Ai. Anyway. Here I reckon we will likely die. Possibly not of natural causes. I guess we'll find out.
    Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit: occidentis telum est.

    Seneca (4 BC - 65 AD)

  6. #86
    Moderator KK20's Avatar
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    Default Re: Australia, New Zealand or Canada?

    Having those options, I hope that one day you never have to regret the choice. I will most likely stay but I truly cannot advise my kids ( one has already left) to do the same if they can leave.
    live out your imagination , not your history.

  7. #87
    Moderator KK20's Avatar
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    Default Re: Australia, New Zealand or Canada?

    Quote Originally Posted by Skaaphaas View Post
    “background stresses” .
    This is exactly it. No matter the security level, my home, business and farm can never be secure. My smallholding has been stripped bare for the seconf time in 3 years. This time I will just leave it to got to ash.
    My security bill is 3x times my Staff bill and if I dont have it , my insurance is an issue.

    We tend to forget very quickly these aspects. It is not unusual to get to work with only 2 hours of sleep due to security issues during the night.
    live out your imagination , not your history.

  8. #88

    Default Re: Australia, New Zealand or Canada?

    KK, if it truly becomes unbearable we can probably go live a simple life somewhere in the UK.

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
    Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit: occidentis telum est.

    Seneca (4 BC - 65 AD)

  9. #89
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    Default Re: Australia, New Zealand or Canada?

    Quote Originally Posted by KK20 View Post
    This is exactly it. No matter the security level, my home, business and farm can never be secure. My smallholding has been stripped bare for the seconf time in 3 years. This time I will just leave it to got to ash.
    My security bill is 3x times my Staff bill and if I dont have it , my insurance is an issue.

    We tend to forget very quickly these aspects. It is not unusual to get to work with only 2 hours of sleep due to security issues during the night.
    KK, why not sell the smallholding instead of leaving it to crumble away?
    I'm sure you'll find someone interested in buying it.
    In which area is it?

  10. #90
    Moderator KK20's Avatar
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    Default Re: Australia, New Zealand or Canada?

    You do know that is part of the land grab strategy
    live out your imagination , not your history.

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