What yould YOU do?

I can't offer any useful advice having lived in the UK all my life, never been to SA, and having only this thread to base it upon, but I'm really sorry to hear about your Dad. If you need any Northamptonshire based help you need only send a PM. Take care x

Awwww Thanks Ralph, that is very kind of you x

*hugs*

Sorry to hear about your dad VT...

I think I would go to SA. You only live once.

[Winder]

Some really clever bloke once said "It's better to regret doing something than regret not doing it."

[Bibio]

i lived in Rhodesia for a year then moved to SA in the mid seventies, Johannesburg to be precise for 2 years. my dad made the decision to move back to the uk as he could feel the tension between the blacks and whites back then. no doubt things have changed in that time.

Yes things have changed a lot. When I got the news my father had not made it I hadnt even considered living in SA at all.

We visited him in 2008 and even then did not consider living here. Before that I had come over when my mother died in 2004 and things were VERY bad that time.

I always told people that I would never come back here, I never thought that the country could move on and repair itself but it seems to be getting there slowly.

Yes there are risks wherever you live and life is not perfect in any country, however I have experienced such a change this time.

SA is healing its wounds despite what is being said, apparently the world cup changed so much. I guess what I am trying to say that the way I am feeling now is that:

If I moved back here and got murdered after only 3 months then it would be worth it because in those 3 months I would have LIVED!

At the moment back home I have everything I could ever have wished for but it's a slog, I just cant keep up and there are not enough hours in a day for me to get everything done. I work so hard to keep what I have that I dont have time to enjoy it and its even worse for Mr VT as he has extra duties for things that I cannot do...like buiding a stable for our new horse and putting in another water trough and re-felting the workshop roof etc.

I have also seen a lot of bikers over here and they love it, apparently you dont get hijacked from a large motorcycle because the offenders dont know how to ride them, they want cars if anything.

That's another thing that changed. Last time we were here you didnt stop at red traffic lights, this time we have noticed that no one runs the red lights anymore!

I was really sorry to hear about your dad VT and have been thinking about you x

Me i would be there in a shot, one of my close friends is emigrating to Canada in November with her company she is an only child but thinks her parents will eventually join her if they decide to stay.

I keep saying to falc can we not emigrate through your company but his head office is in Texas and i am not sure about that at the moment

go for it like the others have said no good wondering what if... x

[keith_d]

Hi Jen,

Sorry to hear about your Dad.

I'd say moving depends on where children fit in your plans. A couple I was having dinner with last night have recently moved from SA. They came to the UK purely for the sake of their kids. The standard of living here is nothing like what they were used to, but they wanted to be somewhere that felt the kids would be safe walking down the street.

Financially, having three houses let in the UK would give you a bit of a hedge if the Rand went south. You might not see much income from them in the first few years, but hopefully they would gradually pay off the mortgages. And, as you've mentioned in the original post it does give you the option to move back.

It would be worth having a chat to a tax advisor in SA too. You wouldn't want to find yourselves facing a huge tax bill for your UK rental income a couple of years down the line.

Just my thoughts,

Keith

Originally Posted by Von Teese

If I moved back here and got murdered after only 3 months then it would be worth it because in those 3 months I would have LIVED!

That I could comment on, no!

You have a whole life ahead of you, SA & UK are not the only two choices.

My friend in Mexico has houses, schools, etc, lined up in Madrid, ready to bail out of Mexico in case a rival drug cartel to the one whose territory he lives on now, decides they want to fight over the territory. The cartels are at war with each other and with the state, starting in the towns in the North near the US border, and working their way south one town at a time, trying to secure Mexican over-land drugs routes to complete the route from Colombia to the US.

If loosing your life is a serious risk in SA don't do it. Equally so if you want kids and they could be kidnapped. Sell up in the SA and the UK, bank the money, and go somewhere else.

Originally Posted by keith_d

They came to the UK purely for the sake of their kids they wanted to be somewhere that felt the kids would be safe walking down the street.

Sorry Keith, but it had to be done....




But relevant points about the taxation on the rental properties but I think that if I rent them out just to cover the mortgage and the insurance and dont make any money the only tax will be captial gains if I sell...However I will definately look into it as it wasnt something we considered.