Wow thanks for such a warm welcome! And thank you all for your input, there is a boat load of options for me from the sounds of the replies I've looked into everyone's recommendations! I guess I need to explain a bit more about my situation I work in IT, staff are in India, so im very fortunate to be able to have free reign on where I move, good internet is the only thing I need for work I will ideally get a house with a separate building that I can convert to an office and work from there to be near kids... but internet MUST be good....at least 5Mbit and unlimited (not sure how things are down there for internet and how this affects an area to choose) Nairobbery isn't the safest of places to live, so we would ideally like somewhere which is a bit safer, we currently live in one of the safest areas but car jacking, killings, and robberies are still rife, and getting worse by the year Most of my South African Friends think CT is much safer though, but we would still like to avoid any problem areas We currently live in a green area, and would like something similar, but has to be close to shops, restaurants and general life, but not a concrete jungle. Regarding schooling, I heard schooling is pretty awesome in SA, so not too bothered about that. We aren't so bothered about private school, certainly at this age! We were considering settling in Nairobi, but this place is friggin expensive to live, and rents have gone up 25% each year in the last 3 years... its a nice place, but the scales are starting to tip now. So to answer DUBBER's question, we are looking at cape town to settle and buy a house. We have 2 boys (1 and 3 years old) The 3 year old has additional needs which is one of the main reasons we are moving (mountain biking, weather and wine are also on that list!) Here in Nairobi, there isn't much to do with such young kids, so i'm looking for stuff like soft play, pubs/coffee shops with playgrounds, and a bit of variety. We currently have to drive 20 mins to find anything decent to do, so it doesn't necessarily need to be on our door step We also would like a community of friends, in the same 30-40 age group and life stage I was looking at somerset west, but someone told me its where you go to retire?!? My budget for a house will be a max of 30,000 rand, but i'd rather not pay that much unless I had too. It would need to be a 4 bed with a separate guest house/office 15,000R would be an ideal budget as I need to save for a house to buy Based on this, and your feedback, it sounds like the Northern suburbs or Stellenbosch are a good fit? Constantia seems pricey??? how about Newlands? (google says it rains a lot there though, i hate rain!) Does Durbanville fit with my above needs too? ...oh and I would like a garden big enough to be able to throw a ball and not hit next door. We currently live on 5 acres with 5 houses, quarter of an acre would be more than enough for the kids to run around though I've waffled a lot, here is shortlist - Unlimited internet of 5mbit or above - near people of same life stage as us - safe-ish area - close-ish to shops, restaurants and life but also has a bit of green and space - budget of 15-30k for a 4 bed with decent plot of land - near young kid friendly stuff - nice weather - obviously near some good trails I'm not sure if the above changes anyones recommendations? From my google maps research: Stellenbosch has some huge hills to the right of it and seems quite green Durbanville looks nice and green but busy enough to have lots going on Constantia looks nice a green.... but not keen if it rains lots! (and crazy rental costs) Not sure if any other fit the bill. Any more advice would be very appreciated based on the above to create my shortlist Thanks!
