What yould YOU do?
 

Hello there .orgers, I know I have been a stranger for a very LONG time now but I have been so busy that I just simply haven't had the time to read forums (not for the lack of wanting to though).

Anyway, I have a situation and I would appreciate some comments.
My father died on Saturday 13th August and I am currently in South Africa sorting out his estate etc. It is winter here and the temperatures have been in the high 20s since we got here.
A few of my cousins still live over here and have lovely lifestyles and homes. Things have definately changed over the last 3 years since we last came here and I miss it so much.

My father has left me everything as I am the only child and as a result I will be able to buy a beautiful house with stables, a pool lots of garages for Mr VTs obsessive collection of vehicles and lots of land in a good secure area (where they train racehorses). Mr VT would be able to start his own business and I would be able to either train horses for a living or not have to work.

I have a good life in the UK but I still struggle with the weather, I find it very isolated and we are working ourselves to death just to keep what we have.

Mr VT is also an only child and his parents may not move over here if we do. Also we have 2 stunning horses, 6 cats and 2 dogs to ship over along with a lot of bikes and cars so it will be a HUGE decision.
To compare things, if we were to use my inheritance over there I would be able to pay off the house we have at the moment and nothing more.

We currently own 3 properties in the UK, 2 of which are being rented out so if things did go horribly wrong we still would be able to pick up the pieces back over there.

If you had this opportunity, what would you do?

Re: What yould YOU do?
 

i personally would move... but I dont have the commitment like yourselfs, although it sounds very much like Sa could be your dream life?

Re: What yould YOU do?
 

Already did! (leave the UK and move somewhere else permanently)

One the best decisions I ever made :) People may say "the grass is always greener...." but in my experience, it actually is.

Re: What yould YOU do?
 

If you don't move back to SA you'll always be left wondering what if....
If you move and it doesn't work out you can always move back...

Choice; cold, wet UK with high taxation. Warm SA with (possibly)a vastly improved lifestyle. The ability to move back if it doesn't work out.

"Now let me think, what to do?"....................................... hope the move goes ok.

Re: What yould YOU do?
 

If I was you I'd get rid of Mr. VT and marry me......:D

Seroiusly, this is a huge decision to make and I think if the opportunity has only just started you thinking about it I'd take some time to let the dust settle before committing to anything. I'm part of a fairly large family and I'm the only one left in the UK, the others being in Canada, USA, Brazil and New Zealand. Individually they all seem really happy with their moves and will each try and convince you their choice was best, but they all also acknowledge they miss the variety and opportunity you get in Europe. If it helps any they all also say that the logistics of the actual move is the easy bit!

There is no such thing as the perfect country, they each have their strengths and weaknesses. Stability used to be the big thing in the UK, but given recent events that's slipping and I think the next few years will make me decide where I'm going.

Re: What yould YOU do?
 

To echo everyone else VT

Go for it, sod thinking 'what if' for the rest of your life!
There ain't a perfect country and the UK is getting worse and the problems magnified.

Re: What yould YOU do?
 

sorry to hear about the loss of your father.

ask yourself why you left SA to begin with. SA is a beautiful country with fantastic weather but it has its problems and i think you might be wearing rose tinted spectacles.

Re: What yould YOU do?
 

Thanks guys,
Well it certainly is beautiful here and we could have so much more for so much less hard work, we might actually have the time to enjoy our lives.

The weather, the food, the land and the people are amazing and despite the crime, the lifestyle is very good here.

I left SA because when I matriculated (passed my A levels) there was affirmative action in place and things were hard for school leavers of my ethnicity when the balance was being re-established.

I know that in every country there will be pros and cons but at the moment I remember what a happy childhood I had and I would love to let Mr VT experience what SA has to offer (unless I take RH up on his offer ;) )

Re: What yould YOU do?
 

How do things compare in SA with your inheritance to NZ??? If it's favourable then NZ idea might be worth revisiting, I know you considered there before. xx

Re: What yould YOU do?
 

Well we were considering NZ but then neither of us have any family over there at all and I also thought that SA was the same rat-hole as it was when we came over in 2008!

But things have definately improved over here and I have realised how important family is. I know that being here for a couple of weeks is different to living here but I have had the benefit of living here before and I was very lucky and happy then.

And Thank you Bibio, it was a horrible shock but without the love and care of my cousins and aunts and Mr VT, I would NEVER have gotten through this.