@CityPowerJhb Please urgently assist! Your website is down and the Call Centre cannot log a ticket! Been without power since last week Thursday due to Comms failure to prepaid meter!
For anyone thinking about leaving South Africa permanently, I'd like to attempt to share a balanced perspective on this topic as a well-seasoned traveller and someone that has lived away from home. I spend a lot of time in Europe and whenever I visit, I’m always struck by a powerful quote:
“There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.”
On paper, there are many things wrong with South Africa. So many in fact, that I don't blame people for leaving. The problem is, most people think the act of leaving is the solution, when really all they're doing is trading one set of pros and cons for another.
Sometimes people are so focused on what they don't like about about their home country while simultaneously taking the amazing aspects for granted. You only really understand the intrinsic value of these overlooked qualities when you're on the other side of the world for a while.
The problem is, once you're in a new country, and once the rose tinted glasses come off, there will be many other things you don't like on that side of the world too.
As crazy as this may sound, I actually encourage people to leave if they really want to. We live in a global world and it's completely false that just because you're born somewhere, it means you have to stay there forever. The only advice I ever dish out is, just make sure you have many good reasons to arrive in a new place. Running away from something will make moving even harder than it already is.
As someone that travels abroad once a month, I speak to many South Africans all over the world. There is no question that most of them see South Africa differently after living abroad for a while. Many other nationalities feel the same about their home country too.
That said, moving away may indeed be the best thing that some of you have ever done. I think the reason for this is simple. When you move, you will love it or hate it over time depending on what you value. But again, you never just value one thing. And this is often why moving is hard.
Like most of you, I value safety and security which is probably the biggest reason why people leave. But I also value that warm South African spirit and friendliness which is what makes it hard to live elsewhere.
In Europe, I really value the ease of travel. This is something that's a lot harder to get right back home. When you're in Europe, you are two hours away from 50 world class cities. But then travel can be incredibly expensive this side compared to back home. The cost of eating out is so much cheaper there and you get so much more bang for your buck.
I could keep going with the comparisons but again, no matter where you live in the world, you have to be aware of all the trade-offs should you want to leave. Leaving in and of itself isn't the solution.
The best solution I have personally come up with is that I have recently started living on two continents at once. As someone who doesn't have kids and is self-employed, this is possible even though most people keep telling me I'm crazy.
I absolute LOVE Europe for many reasons, but I also love South Africa for others. As it stands now, I don't think I ever want to leave South Africa completely but I also can't live in just one country my whole life. So I'm going to do both (again).
If my version of life sounds crazy to you, I think people who leave because they hate one or two aspects of a country they were born in without considering the other trade-offs are even more insane.
Last point. The reason why there's no right or wrong answer to leaving your home country is because the trade-offs are all subjective. Asking someone else if they're happy they moved isn't going to answer the question directly for you.
I don't blame anyone for wanting more from life. Sometimes a move will give you just that, and other times it will show you that you had the best of life at your fingertips all along.
Sometimes you will realise you were never meant to live in just one place, and sometimes you'll be crazy enough to want to live on two continents at once.
Are you making it easy for fraudsters to scam you? Listen to an independent cybersecurity expert unpack how fraudsters work, and how you can protect your information online. #CyberSafety
⚠️Recruitment Scam Alert: Anglo American / Polokwane Smelters.
Please note that the below job advert is fake and we are currently not recruiting. The email used in the advertisement ([email protected]) is not an official Anglo American email address.
“There’s no doubt that the first half of the year was tough in terms of external pressures – and with that backdrop, we generated underlying EBITDA of $8.7 billion in the first six months.” Stephen Pearce, Finance Director.
We have announced our half-year results for 2022.
✅ $8.7 underlying EBITDA
✅ Quellaveco first copper production
✅ nuGen™ hydrogen-powered truck launched
✅ $100 million IFC sustainability-linked loan announced
Read the report: https://t.co/VPe5wg73GM
“Our unwavering focus is on driving consistent performance across our operations – which starts with the safety and health of our employees – and progress towards our full suite of sustainability ambitions.”
Duncan Wanblad, Chief Executive.
Learn more: https://t.co/0LI7LsZ8bt
Want to see the world’s lightest Hydrogen-powered mine haul truck? Visit our exhibition stand @MiningIndaba a scaled-down version.
Learn more about our truck and the integrated nuGen™ Zero Emission Haulage Solution (ZEHS): https://t.co/7ISlSyICLZ
Great article in the Zululand Observer 👍
WITHOUT TOURISM CONSERVATION WILL DIE 😢 Domestic leisure tourism must start NOW.
Let’s hope that this message will get through to our government ... 🙏
@AcademyThula @ThulaThulaFund
A young friend poured her heartfelt feelings into a letter to Pres Ramaphosa. It takes a brave man to take a firm stand & our amazing rainbow nation, to stand united in taking the lead in recognizing the opportunities that arise from a united front ... https://t.co/3l4xSdNaiZ
We’ve had some amazing Golden Buzzer moments on Got Talent all over the world. If you haven’t seen this already, I would love to share this with you. Inspirational! https://t.co/MYWxpy7H4i