It doesn’t matter how passionately I love this country, I’ve come to learn (quite recently, that is) never to say never.  My question to you: If you reach a place of “enough is enough” in this country:

  1. Where would you go?
  2. What three (3 only) things would you miss the most (besides friends and family)?

Elzet

I’ll go somewhere where the culture shock won’t be too harsh on my sensitive African soul, so I’ll do some research on places close by like Namibia, Botswana or Mozambique, I guess. What I’ll miss most? Virgin Active, Woolies and the familiarity of all things South African (the way we do things, the way we talk, our history, my roots etc.).

But for now I dig my heels in very deep; it will take a lot to make me leave. I am South African Woman, hear me roar.

Kerry

I am very fortunate in that my soon-to-be husband and I have many options if the proverbial s#&%t had to hit the fan in this country, I have family in the UK, he has family in the UK and access to New Zealand and Australia if needs be, but this option is definitely not ideal. Our biggest problem would be our dogs, so our third option and possibly most desirable option is immigrating to another more stable African country like Mozambique, wait for the crap to die down and hopefully get the opportunity to come back again and rebuild our lives [nice one, Kerry].

  • I would miss my home the most, from its most perfect shower to the most gorgeous view and all that’s in between.
  • I would miss the modern conveniences like shopping centres and tarred roads, but not that much.
  • I would miss being able to say that I live in South Africa, it’s got a good ring don’t you think?

Louise

You must know that I was chased around the house, pinned down on the lawn and bribed with supplies of fresh Easter eggs in order to give an answer to today’s question.

What can I say. I had to answer. I was hungry.

I honestly believe in never saying “never” so I can’t say I would never leave South Africa although at this moment in time I couldn’t imagine my life anywhere else.

If we were close to walking the plank and had to swivel a plastic globe, I’m guessing my finger would conveniently land in Africa – Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Morocco or Kenya. As long as Africa gets to remain in my circulation, I’m happy. And if the situation really deteriorated that badly, I would assume friends and family would also swivel the globe and seek greener pastures. My only hope would be that we’d all move to the same place and embark on a new adventure together.

I would obviously miss the familiarity of things, the diverse landscapes and the lifestyle here in SA. But hey, if you’re in a new place, new things become familiar, you get to discover new landscapes and enjoy a different lifestyle.

Things happen exactly how they are supposed to happen…