Is South Africa safe for expats?

Hi Anya

Safety in South Africa is an ongoing concern for expats considering a move to the country. Crime rates are high, but authorities have made efforts in recent years to address this.

Expats in Cape Town are generally unaffected, provided they take adequate precautions. The majority of crime in Cape Town takes place in the peripheral areas of the Cape Flats and township areas, such as Kayelitsha and Gugulethu. These are generally areas where expats don't live or work in. If visiting these areas, you should do so with an experienced tour guide who knows the area well.

Cape Town is a wonderful city with a great expat lifestyle. The best thing you can do is to always keep abreast of developments, be aware of your surroundings, and familiarise yourself with higher-risk areas.

We've just updated out Safety in South Africa page, so go have a look at this - this will give you a general overview of the safety environment in SA and also some tips of how to stay safe in the country.

Good luck with your move, and welcome to Cape Town!

Catherine

Wow Catherine you have such good advice. I am contemplating a short term assignment there and was wondering about the safety over there. I read your blog and it was helpful. Of course I have some concerns being a womancoming by herself.

Safety is by far the number one concern most of my readers have when enquiring about moving to South Africa. I live in Johannesburg, not Cape Town, but agree with Catherine. Crime rates are indeed high, but they don't tend to affect you in the area you typically live in as an expat. We have the most "normal" life you can have where we don't spend our days worrying about our children or ourselves, and there are so many things that are great about this country that you can't base a decision on whether to move here or not solely on safety. 

Having said that, you do have to be reasonable. You might compare it to living in New York City, perhaps a few decades ago. There are certain places you don't go to, especially not at night, and you might live in a more "fortified" home than you do elsewhere.

Most of the rest is just South Africa's bad repuation, based on what was happening in the late 80s and early 90s. Not only have things changed here since then, but things have also changed elsewhere, and not always to the better. An acquaintance of mine just moved back to Germany from Johannesburg, and they've already had two attempted break-ins in their house. She says she's longing for life in the secure estate here in South Africa.

Good luck!

We're going to move in Durban. We'll live in Mount Edgecombe, north from the city. Do you know anything about this area? My main problem is that if I can travel in the city to work? Or it will be impossible? Thanks for your help!

I'm sorry but I don't know much about Durban at all, I've only visited there once. It's smaller than Joburg and Cape Town, and traffic didn't seem terribly bad, so I would think it's possibly to commute from the suburbs. I would just find an estate agent website and see what's on offer for secure estates. Umhlanga Rocks is a beautiful town to the North of Durban, with wonderful beaches and nice shopping etc, but I don't know if that's a bit too far for a daily commute, depending on traffic. A local estate agent should be able to consult you in this regard.

I am going to moving johannesburg with my wife and 2years kid.Is it a safe place to stay with family.The company provide me 33000 Rand monthly salary excluding house, car,electricity and water is it a good salary .