koukie Posted June 17, 2015 Share I live in Somerset West, it has a big retirement village component, but it also has some of the best primary schools in the western Cape. Stellenbosch has the best high schools with paarl a close second.Trials in stellies are best, with Durbanville in 2nd place, Somerset West 3rd.Durbanville is very Afrikaans, but the English side has grown lately. Don't know how much of an issue that is for you. Stellies is growing at a huge rate, but the road infrastructure is clogged up. I've lived in Somerset West, Stellenbosch, Durbanville and Cape Town. I now live in Somerset West, but will happily be able to live in Stellenbosch as well. Somerset West is cheaper to rent and buy, and has less traffic issues. And my business is based here. My suggestion is thus:1) Somerset West2) Stellenbosch3) DurbanvilleGood advice, Stellenbosch for best trails but the traffic in Stellenbosch is a nightmare! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shebeen Posted June 17, 2015 Share given your criteria, I would go for stellenbosch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quade Posted June 17, 2015 Share Something nobody had mentioned yet is space. From your description I assume you in a suburb similar to Karen (although the crime threw me a bit there, but I've only been here a few weeks)? Anyway, I'm not in a position to comment on all areas since I'm from joburg but there are a number where your house probably going to be significantly smaller than what you're used to. Perhaps a few property/house sizes will help out a bit too.Hey man, Yes im in Karen!Its very safe compared with other places here, but I work in the security industry so i get to hear about everything! (sometimes i'd rather not)Last week an expat got shot in the head, but mostly crime here is opportunistic. I'm expecting to down size a little, but would like to choose a leafy area so we have plenty of outdoors! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quade Posted June 17, 2015 Share Duplicate...deleted Edited June 17, 2015 by quade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brawler Posted June 17, 2015 Share Stellenbosch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgarblount Posted June 17, 2015 Share given your criteria, I would go for Pretoria. quade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quade Posted June 17, 2015 Share Welcome Quade Northern suburbs is great, on bike and into great single track.Have a look at Loevenstein/ Welgemoed. It is close to all the access roads and Telkom recently installed optic fibre, so your internet issues should be fine. Houses are within your requirements, leafy with +/- 1300 m2 size plots. Also great schools in the area.These Areas also look great, I guess its more afrikaans than english here too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quade Posted June 17, 2015 Share I think its got to be one of these then 1) Stellenbosch2) Somerset West3) Durbanville/Loevenstein/ WelgemoedThanks allI'm guessing Stellenbosch is going to be the most pricey to rent in as its a bit of a tourist destination though.I'll start planning to visit the above and get a feel for the areascheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryH Posted June 17, 2015 Share These Areas also look great, I guess its more afrikaans than english here too?Slightly more Afrikaans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Shore Posted June 17, 2015 Share The northern suburbs of Cape Town (durbanville etc) are very Afrikaans, not nearly as scenically beautiful as the southern suburbs, and certainly not the epicentre of cultural activities/good restaurants etc. The best schools in Cape Town are all in the southern suburbs (Rondebosch/Newlands/Wynberg/Constantia) although there are some good private schools out Stellenbosch and Somerset West side. If I had to choose between Stellenbosch and SSW I would definitely go for Stellenbosch. The number of bike parks and biking culture out there is fantastic and there are some truly great restaurants/pubs/coffee spots. SSW is a boring retirement village replete with thousands of cloned and soulless Tuscan boxes. If that's your thing then you probably will get the most space and value for money there. Brawler, LazyTrailRider and quade 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J∆kk∆ls Posted June 17, 2015 Share given your criteria, I would go for Pretoria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyTrailRider Posted June 17, 2015 Share The northern suburbs of Cape Town (durbanville etc) are very Afrikaans, not nearly as scenically beautiful as the southern suburbs, and certainly not the epicentre of cultural activities/good restaurants etc. The best schools in Cape Town are all in the southern suburbs (Rondebosch/Newlands/Wynberg/Constantia) although there are some good private schools out Stellenbosch and Somerset West side. If I had to choose between Stellenbosch and SSW I would definitely go for Stellenbosch. The number of bike parks and biking culture out there is fantastic and there are some truly great restaurants/pubs/coffee spots. SSW is a boring retirement village replete with thousands of cloned and soulless Tuscan boxes. If that's your thing then you probably will get the most space and value for money there. I concur. Unfortunately, the Southern Suburbs fall outside the budget parameters, so Stellenbosch is most likely the best option when taking all the checkboxes into account. It's not cheap either however, although better than the Southern Subs. Eddy Gordo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quade Posted June 17, 2015 Share Stellenbosch looks amazing for biking!!!!!!I guess i could up rental allowance depending on costs of living (of which I have no idea)What is a ball park for rental percentage based on salary (i.e. 30% of salary on rent?)? What would really help is an idea on cost of living, I guess a good indication is:A beer in a pubCappuccinoPint of milk (or 1 / 2 litre)Loaf of breadA main course in an average restaurantA glass of wine in restaurantAnyone happen to know these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTBeer Posted June 17, 2015 Share Stellenbosch looks amazing for biking!!!!!! I guess i could up rental allowance depending on costs of living (of which I have no idea)What is a ball park for rental percentage based on salary (i.e. 30% of salary on rent?)? What would really help is an idea on cost of living, I guess a good indication is: A beer in a pub R18 - R25Cappuccino - R20Pint of milk (or 1 / 2 litre) - R10/lLoaf of bread - R12 (sliced)A main course in an average restaurant - R85 - R120A glass of wine in restaurant - R20 - R30Anyone happen to know these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques@ACT Posted June 17, 2015 Share Beer in pub, between 20-45, depending what you drinkCoffee between 20-25Milk about 20-25 for 2 liters Bread between 10-20Average main would be between 80-150, depending on type of restaurantGlass of wine in restaurant, prob anything from 25 and up.Decent bottle of wine in shop, from 50 and up.Petrol currently on about 13 per literGood internet uncapped will prob be around 1000 per monthA very rough estimate, groceries for us (2 people), probably around 3k-4k per month. Don't actually know, kind of guessing.Insurance, i pay R300 per month for a honda jazz, R800 for a VW kombi for business use and about R400 for KTM 990. This is fully comp.Medical iads are big expense here, we pay About R2500 per month for 2 people. Fairly good cover. We live in Durbanville area for comparison on insurances. Im sure other people will have different amounts or opinions, but that is what we spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyTrailRider Posted June 17, 2015 Share Beer in pub, between 20-45, depending what you drinkCoffee between 20-25Milk about 20-25 for 2 litersBread between 10-20Average main would be between 80-150, depending on type of restaurantGlass of wine in restaurant, prob anything from 25 and up.Decent bottle of wine in shop, from 50 and up.Petrol currently on about 13 per literGood internet uncapped will prob be around 1000 per monthA very rough estimate, groceries for us (2 people), probably around 3k-4k per month. Don't actually know, kind of guessing.Insurance, i pay R300 per month for a honda jazz, R800 for a VW kombi for business use and about R400 for KTM 990. This is fully comp.Medical iads are big expense here, we pay About R2500 per month for 2 people. Fairly good cover. We live in Durbanville area for comparison on insurances. Im sure other people will have different amounts or opinions, but that is what we spend. Pretty accurate, although I don't know how anyone drinks wine which costs R20 or R25/glass. I'm nauseous just thinking about it... My usual experiences show R40-R50/glass, which we'll only pay if we're only having a single glass each (not often). Mostly you can expect to pay R150 for a bottle of OKish wine in a restaurant, R220 and up for a nice bottle. Strangely, it's about double that in JHB. On the other hand, I buy boxes of *really* good wine unlabelled in bulk for R50/bottle. Go figure. Captain Fastbastard Mayhem and quade 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now