Parkhurst Living

[100Tours]

I lived in Parkhurst from 1999 to 2013,

1. Depends where you work - if you're commuting to Sandton then Parkhurst is great because it puts you on the right side of the spruit/green belts to access this 3rd circle of hell.. If you're travelling into town or even Rosebank then look a little more south and save some money maybe.
2. The house I owned had 'Made in Japan' solid oak floors, imported through the 'Port of Lorenco Marques', which I thought was cool. The suburb was built post war for returning veterans so it has a bit of history to it (and a MOTH shellhole, go figure). I also had some walls that had been built without foundations.
3. The properties are measured in 'Cape Feet' (50x100 cape feet to be exact), a measure which South Africa invented while the standard meter was on loan to India. We never got the meter back, but we did give them a copy of the cape foot, which they used for measuring stuff in India too. 
4. Access to the spruit is nice, and 4th avenue is vibey (but try be at least 2 blocks away, or you get stuck in amongst the parking bunfight that goes on around 4th). Your LBS is now Sprocket and Jack. Parkhurst has 1 remaining dirt road when you feel like an out-of-town experience.
5. Security was always just ok. if you parked outside you would lose your wheels sooner or later, but never any worse than that. There's a lot of people paying security fees in a small space, so there is reasonable security presence. Don't ever leave a VW Polo outdoors in the 'hurst however.
6. Damp was an issue if your property was in a dip (my neighbour had a pump installed beneath her floors for when it rained). There are a number of perenniel streams flowing through the storm drains.
7. Talking of which, neighbourly relations were always complicated. properties are small so you're very aware of each other, and there's not one property there that does not contravene some building regulations. Chances are the combined rainwater catchment of the whole block appears through a 1 brick gap in your uphill boundary wall during a thunderstorm. Some properties were below road level, which means drainage is something you would be on the wrong end of.
8. Some properties have town gas, but based on whether the property owner at the time applied for gas in 1950ish. quirky. If there was gas in your street you could apply to egoli gas to get connected for about R20k.

Edited July 29, 2020 by 100Tours

[Chris_]

Thanks is for the information so far everyone. Keep the thoughts and experiences coming. Looking at three places there on Saturday morning. Our other option at the moment is Lakeside in Modderfontein. For around the same price you get a semi-detached place which is tiny compared to what we are seeing in Parkhurst, but you have the secure estate that you are part of. So it is a toss up between the two: very nice redone house in an area you have to be awake in or a not so lekker place in a super secure area

 

I think 'secure' estates are becoming less and less of their name-sake.

 

I've heard far too many stories of inside jobs, carried out far too easily, inside said estates. I think its becoming more of a sales pitch to security than reality. The quality of life and ease of living inside a quieter boomed off space may well be better, but I wouldn't make the decision on the promise of safety alone. Just a thought.

 

100Tours mentioned work. Its a good point. Same goes for your wife (?), your kids' school (?). It nice living in the centre of Joburg though, because most of the time you're against traffic.

[thebob]

All good point everyone. The madam would commute to Centurion via the Gautrain (if they're ever allowed back) and I'm in Woodmead for work (again, if we're allowed back).

 

The info about the streams is very useful. The one place we're looking at if right at the bottom of Parkhurst, basically on the Spruit. But if everything flows down there, I'm a bit less keen on it