Mtbiker404 Posted April 2 Posted April 2 I am looking to move to a town in the Western Cape, and to buy a house. I ride mtb almost every day, and I like to ride from home. Besides Stellenbosch and Somerset West, what is the best towns for mtb? Also take buying a house into consideration. Stellenbosch has great riding from home but not any good new houses to buy at resealable prices. Somerset West is a bit better in terms of buying a house, but I want to find out more about Wellington (north) and Paarl, George and Outeniquasbosch Wildlife Village in Hartenbos. Outeniquasbosch has great option to buy a house but the mtb area is slightly small. Has anybody done some mtb in Outeniquasbosch? Any other suggestions? Which town would you recommend to buy a house to enjoy mtb from home? Any advice will be very much appreciated.
guidodg Posted April 2 Posted April 2 (edited) Greyton... I ride from home, never ever use the car here even to go to the shops. We have awesome trails [I am currently involved in trail building and development] and the gravel riding is second to none. Relatively safe, houses still affordable and only 1 hr from Hermanus... Cme and spend a week here... greytonmtb.co.za am currently updating the .gpx files and routes Edited April 2 by guidodg CaptainKipper, BuffsVintageBikes, nonky and 7 others 10
splat Posted April 2 Posted April 2 I don't know much about the property prices, but the Plettenberg Bay area has a lot to offer in terms of Mountain Biking. There are pro's and con's to any of the areas that will come up in conversation. Also 'reasonable' prices for property is also very relative. lukelockie and Mtbiker404 2
Jewbacca Posted April 2 Posted April 2 George ..... If I had to pick a small coastal town with affordable housing, great riding and very good surrounds, I would choose George. Gravel passes and mountains just in land, Vic Bay right there, other good waves not far away. Amazing riding trails and riding community. Hiking and running trails a plenty as well. IMHO, as someone who lives in Muizenberg in the Cape Town and is not an overzealous local selling their own town, George has everything, even good health care and hospitals. renayg, Jako De Wet, PygaSchmyga and 7 others 10
Shebeen Posted April 2 Posted April 2 Going to sound boring but not even Greg Minnaar has "best mtb trails" top of his requirement list when deciding where to live. There's at least five personal factors you need to consider when moving to a new town with the intention of buying property. Narrow those down first and then look at the mtb suitability of the places with boxes ticked. (And definitely do a road trip next). Rowl 1
Rowl Posted April 2 Posted April 2 I don't think many outdoorsy places in the WC are cheap compared to the Big North. With that being said, Southern Cape towns all offer some sort of riding (mtb and gravel). Swellendam/Greyton/Hermanus/Stanford/George all offer a mix of riding, but have different levels of ammenities. Driving 1.5/2hrs for a Woolies or to get your Landy serviced can be tiring/expensive/time consuming. Talk to the townies and get a feel for what it's like living there. From experience, even trail politics can take place in these lovely places. Also consider the general age of the population and how comfortable you are to make new maats. Mtbiker404 1
Danger Dassie Posted April 2 Posted April 2 2 hours ago, Mtbiker404 said: I am looking to move to a town in the Western Cape, and to buy a house. I ride mtb almost every day, and I like to ride from home. Besides Stellenbosch and Somerset West, what is the best towns for mtb? Also take buying a house into consideration. Stellenbosch has great riding from home but not any good new houses to buy at resealable prices. Somerset West is a bit better in terms of buying a house, but I want to find out more about Wellington (north) and Paarl, George and Outeniquasbosch Wildlife Village in Hartenbos. Outeniquasbosch has great option to buy a house but the mtb area is slightly small. Has anybody done some mtb in Outeniquasbosch? Any other suggestions? Which town would you recommend to buy a house to enjoy mtb from home? Any advice will be very much appreciated. Must say I was pleasantly surprised with Tulbagh/Saronsburg. Some absolute quality riding and outdoors exploring around there, plus housing seems pretty cheap. Swellendam gets another vote, apparently the fastest economic growth. Also apparently, the region between these up to Wellington is fast becoming a thriving outdoors/adventure sports scene. Depends on what your work entails and what kind of town/suburban balance you're looking for. Mtbiker404 1
Puxi Posted April 2 Posted April 2 We moved to Stellies 18months ago and yes houses are expensive but man I have loved living here. Endless trails, great restaurants and an amazing vibe. Mtbiker404 1
Smartie Posted April 2 Posted April 2 (edited) Biased opinion - Swellendam. That said, housing affordability is limited due to limited supply. The latter is probably true for most small towns in the Western Cape. Otherwise George is an option, but it is a small city and not a small town. Edited April 2 by Smartie Rowl and Mtbiker404 2
Danger Dassie Posted April 2 Posted April 2 22 minutes ago, Puxi said: We moved to Stellies 18months ago and yes houses are expensive but man I have loved living here. Endless trails, great restaurants and an amazing vibe. And a stupidly ridiculous amount of ice cream parlours!.... Heaven!
Prince Albert Cycles Posted April 2 Posted April 2 Don’t move to Prince Albert allready too many people here to my liking 😇 ChrisF, Mtbiker404, Mamil and 3 others 2 4
ChrisF Posted April 2 Posted April 2 Left field question .... Retiring ? Or setting up a remote office ? Many smaller towns still have very bad cell coverage. Fibre ... but check before comitting ... Western Cape ... no ideal address. Trails from Tokai, through Tygerberg and Bottelary. From Somerset West through Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl to Wellington. Each has their gems .... Also, Paarl and surroundings gets slightly hot ..... understatement. These are all a shorr drive appart .... Different approach .... Tulbach Ceres has good trails. Slanghoek, Rawsonville and Worcester to Robertson has equally many options. Though not sure of access ... Greyton ... man o man .... really on my bucket list 👍👍 The Grabow and Elgin valley ... Realistically .... you are going to want to drive to experience more of these trails. Prince Albert Cycles and Me rida my bicycle 1 1
babse Posted April 2 Posted April 2 Nothing really to add but what a nice problem to have 😅 Choosing a location to live based on available riding trails... Sounds like a dreamy situation. All the best! ChrisF 1
Me rida my bicycle Posted April 2 Posted April 2 Durbanville and Kraaifontein border (Kraaistantia) with over 150km trail network on the doorstep, not even thinking of the 100's of km's of farm roads. Fancy riding somewhere else, Bottelary, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Wellington all only couple of minutes away. To be honest there are so many great trails and places to live all over the Western Cape it's a difficult decision that I am glad I don't have to make. ChrisF 1
quade Posted April 2 Posted April 2 Married? Kids? How old are you? We did an international move to Somerset West and live next to lourensford, they are restricted on days which is annoying...loads of other places to ride nearby Your season of life is an important factor for your choice Prince Albert Cycles and ChrisF 1 1
Mtbiker404 Posted April 2 Author Posted April 2 4 hours ago, Shebeen said: Going to sound boring but not even Greg Minnaar has "best mtb trails" top of his requirement list when deciding where to live. There's at least five personal factors you need to consider when moving to a new town with the intention of buying property. Narrow those down first and then look at the mtb suitability of the places with boxes ticked. (And definitely do a road trip next). I don`t have a life, I only have mtb. So it is the most important thing for me to consider. I just need fibre for work and good riding trails and a good house to buy for 3-4 bar. Thanks for the advice, I think I will go on a road trip. guidodg 1
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