Expat Daniel Boon shares how he deals with Saffer knockers – and supporters
Daniel Boon is a proud South African living abroad, passionate about his homeland despite its challenges. He's lived in multiple countries and often debates with fellow South Africans about the nation's merits. He believes South Africa offers a unique blend of fantastic weather, excellent education, affordable living, and rich opportunities. While some criticize his homeland, he sees immense potential and advantages that outweigh the drawbacks. He is committed to reminding emigrating South Africans of the unique privileges and opportunities they might miss elsewhere and wishes to share his thoughts and experiences to highlight the reasons to live and raise a family in South Africa.
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By Daniel Boon
I am an extremely patriotic South African, currently living abroad on an assignment. I have been very fortunate to be able to travel and live in a few different countries in my time and would often bump into South Africans. Inevitably the conversations with my countrymen go in one of two directions: those that have nothing good to say about South Africa and have completely convinced themselves that their new homeland is better in every sense, and those that look back at South Africa with nostalgia and in fact are planning or willing to return given the right opportunity. Personally, I fall into the last camp and often find myself vehemently defending South Africa to the former group. I also regularly speak to South Africans looking to emigrate, and I consider it my duty to remind them of their privileges that they will struggle to find anywhere else. Having grown frustrated by the barrage of bad news and promises of utopia in other countries that have influenced many people to leave South Africa, I thought it may be worth while to put my many thoughts and experiences on paper.
First a bit about me: I am a chemical engineer by training working in the chemical industry for many years. My day-to-day job involves trying to solve high impact problems (imagine a refinery producing off-specification product!), looking at data to learn trends, trying to understand problems objectively, and even predicting when certain failures will occur, all this while trying to manage business and environmental goals. These skills have filtered into my personal life too, and I shamelessly admit to having my entire life captured in a spreadsheet (when to retire, what car to buy, where to go on holiday, etc.) and continuously weighing up the benefits and disadvantages of any given choice – even some that cannot be captured in a spreadsheet. Thus, here is my list of reasons to live in South Africa and raise a family:
1. The weather. Let's start with the obvious one. I grew up in the highveld that has arguably the best weather in the world. Apart from the odd hail storm, the weather is quite mild and I can recall many winter afternoons being outside with shorts, and playing rugby barefoot in primary school in the middle of winter. Most days are sunny and cloudless. Having lived in some damp and dreary places in my life, you should not underestimate the impact on you psyche of not seeing the sun for weeks. It is utterly depressing, and fortunately, the weather is something that politicians cannot mess up.
2. Fantastic opportunities for your children. I often hear that people have emigrated "for the future of their children". Firstly, I respect that parents are willing to make such big sacrifices for their children. However, I think many parents do so without a full understanding. Firstly, moving to the UK, US, or Australia, typically have very expensive universities, meaning you're either going to have financially ruin yourself to allow your children to study there, or your children will have to take on significant student debt and therefore it is difficult to argue that they have a headstart here. Additionally, if you think the competition for university places is tough in South Africa, wait till you start competing in developed countries. Here you are not only competing against people of your own country, but essentially against the smartest and richest children from all over the world. Your chance of success is even lower than in South Africa. Therefore, I'd much rather be a big fish in the South African pond, than a goldfish in the developed world's ocean. Additionally, for the children that are more entrepreneurial at heart, there are many opportunities in South Africa. From installing solar systems, water solutions, security solutions, etc. are all goods and services that are right on your doorstep in South Africa and that has been almost completely removed in the developed world.
3. The education system in South Africa is extremely good. Many would scoff at this point, given South Africa's low literacy rate, woeful matric standards, and various statistics that show South African children are among the worst in the world for reading with comprehension. These are all valid points. However, ever heard of the statistician that drowned in a pool that had an average depth of 30cm? I am willing to bet that if you have the means and ambition to emigrate, your children are likely in one of the leading schools scattered across the country, with dedicated teachers and fantastic facilities where your child can do a multitude of sports or cultural activities. These schools do not even have to be private – some of the public in the traditional suburbs are world class.
4. The crime. Admittedly, crime is a big problem in South Africa and I cannot reasonably argue this point away. The reality is South Africans are exposed to much higher levels of crime than what is considered normal in the first world (having said that, my apartment was burgled in Chicago, and my brother's phone was stolen in New Zealand from his locked car). But, back to our wet statistician friend: Most people with the means and skills to emigrate are likely living in security estates or in very good suburban areas where crime rates are very low. When looking at the busiest police stations in the country, they are unsurprisingly in Joburg CBD and Durban CBD where many unsavory acts are committed. You and I probably don't live there and would hardly dare going there. Therefore, to those looking at emigration, I would implore you to not simply look at statistics, but to examine the risks in your own life.
5. The food. South Africa has wonderful tradition of home grown, wholesome food. Walk into any Woolies or Checkers, and you'd likely find delicious steaks, sweet fruits, hearty vegetables, and exceptional wines all locally sourced and at exceptionally good prices. A braai with a big steak, veggies, and wine probably costs you 50% or less of what it would cost you in most other countries, and at much better quality. As with the weather, don't underestimate the impact of having quality food on your doorstep on your psyche.
6. The nature. You often see Instagram photos of people hiking in the Alps, tanning on Australian beaches, or canoeing on pristine lakes. These are all fantastic experiences and I encourage everyone with the means to experience them. However, in our wonderful country, you can access all of this. Mountains, dessert, beaches, forests, gorges and of course the wonderful Kruger Park which is enough of a reason on its own since you can find this nowhere else in the world. All within a few hours drive or short flight.
7. Cost of living. Looking to move to Melbourne, London or Munich can be eye-wateringly expensive. Do yourself a favour and have a look on numbeo.com what the average price of a 3 bed apartment outside many of these city centers would be. I realise interest rates are lower in the first world and probably earning potential is higher too, but for the price of a basic apartment in these cities you could probably buy yourself a massive property with a large garden, swimming pool and a view, in a secure estate. Renting or buying one of these properties in the developed world will likely consume most of your salary. That is before factoring additional costs like kindergarten, gas in the winter, fuel and vehicle taxes, etc. Therefore, when you are considering moving, I encourage you to do the math and see whether your new job will afford you the same abode as you have in South Africa.
8. The lifestyle. This ties in with cost of living. I admit to being a sports guy and will try my hand at almost anything. Nothing better than spending an afternoon on the golf course with friends, exploring nature on your mountain bike, sweating on the squash court, or swearing on the padel court. These activities are simply out of reach for the average person living in most other countries, simply because they are extremely expensive. Activities like golf and padel are comparatively expensive (a round at your local Ozzie course probably costs the same as a round on Leopard Creek), and South Africa has a fantastic mountain bike infrastructure. Also factor into this other events like the 94.7 or Cape Town Cycle Race, the Comrades, The Two Oceans Marathon; truly world class events!
9. The freedom. I often say the worst thing about living in South Africa is the incompetent government. The best thing about living in South Africa is the incompetent government. Once you accept that the government is essentially useless, you feel the shackles being unlocked. Remember e-tolls? TV-licenses? Expropriation? All fads that have been defeated. You can even renew your passport at the bank now. Citizens have simply resorted to private – and better – options. When living in Germany (I admit a rather extreme example), there are rules that govern what herbicide you are allowed to throw on your garden, homeschooling is forbidden, Sundays should be quiet, etc., with severe fines if you are caught transgressing. While I understand that these rules are in place for a reason, and I actually don't object to most of them, my personality simply does not like these restrictions even if I naturally abide by them. I am a decent, responsible human being and I can make decisions myself, thank you very much.
10. The economy. Yes, the South Africa economy is in pain. Load shedding, crime, BEE, etc. But, put it into context. Our GDP growth in 2023 was better than many developed countries like Germany and the UK, and better than other comparable developing countries like Saudi Arabia (what are they doing with all that oil?), Poland, Pakistan, etc. Again, it could be better, but let's have some perspective. We also seem to be over the most of loadshedding with home solar adding more than 6GW to the grid, full operation of the behemoth Kusile and Medupi plants imminent after many operational challenges, and major maintenance on Koeberg having been completed. Finally, it would appear that we are at the bottoms of the resource cycle, and given the nature of South Africa's economy, there may be a lot of upside on the way.
11. The politicians. Yes, our politicians are terrible. However, I have the privilege of working with many Italians, Greeks, Americans, Brits, Dutch, etc. Do you know what they complain about? Yup, their government and their corrupt politicians. Corruption, incompetence, entitlement, I've heard it all before. Don't fool yourself into thinking that by living in Australia you'll be free of politics (have a look on Twitter for the hatred of Anthony Albenese every time he posts, or who could forget Scott Morrison appointing himself to several ministerial positions during Covid, or Boris partying in Covid, or Biden fumbling over his words, or Trump). Politicians are scum. Everywhere. Period.
12. The people. Don't pay attention to the vitriol on Twitter or headlines in News24. Most people in South Africa are caring, friendly people with great senses of humour that are always looking to smile. If you don't believe me, go to your petrol station today and ask the attendant what his name is, where he lives, what football team he supports, etc. You'll immediately see a wide grin. That is difficult to find anywhere else.
13. The opportunity to do good. South Africa has the highest Gini coefficient in the world, meaning the distribution of income is severely skewed. Schools, hospitals, roads, factories in townships and rural areas are severely lacking. Ironically, the people living in these communities would benefit the most by emigrating, but they neither have the means nor skills to do so. Nevertheless, instead of using this extreme poverty as a reason to move, think about the magnificent impact you can have on someone's life from these under-resourced areas. A few Rand or a few minutes of your time can go a very long way in South Africa, whereas in Europe or Australia poverty has all but been eliminated, and the impact of your altruism is not so large. Therefore, think of South Africa as the most effective place to spend an altruistic dollar.
14. The opportunity to build. John F Kennedy's historic words "Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country", rings very true in South Africa. You could be the part of something truly grand like helping to build a school, volunteering at your local club or theatre, part of the neighborhood watch, etc. From an American or Australian point of view, this may appear to be rather backward with them probably thinking "Shouldn't the government do that?". I like to look at it a little differently – imagine if I can tell my grandchildren that I helped fund a library, or built a community garden, or coached a rugby team. I would die a happy man if I could tell them this. It would make a much better story than "I moved to the Australia and I spent my days on Bondi beach".
15. Ick. Here I would like to use an analogy from the investing world. Michael Burry, the man who famously predicted the financial crisis of 2008 and made a lot of money off it, is a proponent of "Ick" investing. Ick investing is the process of buying stocks in companies that would have most people would saying "Ick!" (as in "Yuck!"). Think of investing in oil companies when the oil price was $30/bbl – most people would've told you that oil is dead, dirty and belongs in the past. Things change rapidly (a war breaks out, OPEC changes, the world realizes oil is still valuable), and soon oil is trading at $80/bbl and oil companies are printing money. The same can be said for gold, tobacco, or any other company that has a bad reputation and a poor outlook by the experts. It turns out that you can make a lot of money by investing in out-of-favour companies and waiting for the tide to turn. Conversely, you can also lose a lot of money by investing in highly favoured, expensive companies (IBM, Oracle, even Tesla springs to mind). Ick investing also gives you a margin of safety – everyone thinks the company is headed down the tube, so it is already in the price and you don't stand to lose much. You only need a little bit of good news to change the narrative. I think you can apply this same thinking to South Africa. Where do I have the most chance of success? Living in an over-priced, popular, highly competitive country like Australia, or finding niches and gaps where others fear to tread in South Africa? I'm very comfortable with my decision. Ick.
16. South Africans are winners. For some reason, South Africans punch above their weight in virtually all domains. On the sports field we have produced world champions in almost every sport (tennis, rugby, golf, swimming, athletics, cycling, motor racing and even our cricket players have held the world test championship). We have produced exceptional businesspeople like Elon Musk – he can say what he wants, South Africa made him, Roelof Botha and Whitey Basson. Our education system has produced 7 non-peace Nobel prize winners (more than heavyweights like Belgium, Portugal, Ireland or New Zealand). We had (past tense) respected leaders like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Our artists like Trevor Noah and Charlize Theron (love them or hate them) are world renowned. We have held global events like the FIFA world cup, something even the mighty Australia or Canada has never done. The point is that, somehow,we have managed to make things work in South Africa. Sometimes it's difficult, but there is something in the water of this country.
17. You're an insider. BEE sucks, I know. BEE is probably the most catastrophic policy conceived by anyone in the history of mankind. It makes it difficult or even impossible for white South Africans to compete. Nevertheless, you should be rational about this. Did you know that Micro Enterprises (revenue lower than R10mil per year) are exempt from BEE and automatically qualify for a BEE level 4 rating? Great motivation to start your own business! I know a lot of people doing very well with small companies. Additionally, you should keep in mind that yes, BEE is difficult, but it also difficult to start a life in a new country where you will you always be an outsider. It may not be enshrined in law, but the reality is that the locals favour local businesses (e.g. Americans would prefer doing business with the same Americans they have been doing business with for years, not the South African who recently moved into the neighborhood). Building up a good network can take years.
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*Daniel Boon: South African, Chemical Engineer, PhD.