back in June to scope schools in paarl /franchoek for the kids, look for a house while we build ours, test drive some jammies and generally assimilate into quazi rural western cape aka Paarl.
Some questions for the locals/experts, 1 at a time:

I and my wife are heavy broadband users for work (publishing/media and heavy engineering) and are used to unlimmited ultra fast ADSL (download 1 gig in 20min type thing). Now im going to be living on a farm with no ADSL connectivity cos we dont even have phones there, I belive i can get satalitte broadband (my neighbour tells me this on his farm).

Is this right?

CELL C package ....R2999...60 gig...mates got it 5 gig a month....works a treat...pop onto their site for coverage.....got my sat receivers from ME...gona hook them up 2011....missing my 5000 channels of junk.....

so its a satalite dish thingy?
the R3k seems high, that cant be per month can it?
why is there no unlimited broadband like everywhere else in the world, this caped shit is nonsense.
my little old conncetion in dubai at home is a 100 meg a minutre and costs me AED149 (R300) per month and its on day and night.
I can see this being an issue for my work in SA, seems to be a barrier to productivity and world class connectivity.

Cell c just upgraded their network so it will probably be the fastest wireless cellular Internet available at the moment. The price is based on a 1 year pre-paid bundle and the hardware a USB modem.
For fixed line adsl, mweb offers uncapped data.
My friend applied for this with a 4meg line for about 1000 per month.
After 3 months he is still waiting for Telkom to install the adsl line, and that is in the
suburbs.

ok but on a farm its different so no ADSL out there but is this satalite thing ok\/

There are a few options.

You can get Microwave links setup... they go by a few names, but I think SpaceStream is the more popular one, albeit expensive.

Your other option is to investigate long distance wifi connectivity, I'll do some digging around and see what options you have in that region of the country.

ta mate, gotta get all my ducks in row before I arrive and this is a very big issue for me due to work need for high speed conectivity.

Chus

ta mate, gotta get all my ducks in row before I arrive and this is a very big issue for me due to work need for high speed conectivity.

Chus

:lol: i see ur bringing ur office with u

correcto mondo, im moving the Africa, Middle East , Asia office from Dubai to Cape Town

SA Boy, are you bringing any pets back home?
Im bringing my 2 Samoyeds back.

1 rottweiller from Dubai with another rottie pup from Hungray comming after we arrive

Don't expect any wireless broadband miracles in SA. If you want uncapped high speed wireless in a rural area, you're going to have to pay, a lot.

dont need high speed wireless on the farm (indoors yes ) but need to have the incomming feed as high speed. This seems to be quite a task and almost stone age in nature. My inlaws farm in Oz( 80km from anywhere) has broadband so why cant I?

Cos this is SA and our guavamint are holding back that development of the broadband network with stupid decisions.

No, its because we are still a developing country - we have just had the seacom cable completed, for instance, they are moving quite fast and things are improving, but stop comparing the network to Europe or Oz or the States or whatever.

Rural areas will still be behind, although wireless speeds in Paarl seemed absolutely fine to me - perhaps not for intensive business use, but I am sure there will be a solution - although yes, it may be more expensive than in frikken Belgium..!

I work with a guy who just returned from the Netherlands, and he was going on so long about how cheap and fast broadband was over there, that I eventually had to slap him.

fair enough, I appreciate its not like here in Dubai, the US or the UK where I work the most and hense see broadband as a way of life not a luxuary. In paarl as long as I can get high speed via satalite Im a happy camper and yes its going to be much more expensive than in ICE mature markets.

I just remeber reading that it was cheaper to fly to hong kong and down load something than it was to do it in SA. That scares me and from moving a business to SA that needs high speed bandwidth, its a turn off big time

Just wondering why you would HQ your high tech business on a farm? Anyway I'm sure the products probably exist in SA but like I said for high speed wireless (indoors, outdoors, downlink, uplink, whatever), you gonna get a fright when they quote you. You have been warned ;)

No, its because we are still a developing country - we have just had the seacom cable completed, for instance, they are moving quite fast and things are improving, but stop comparing the network to Europe or Oz or the States or whatever.

Rural areas will still be behind, although wireless speeds in Paarl seemed absolutely fine to me - perhaps not for intensive business use, but I am sure there will be a solution - although yes, it may be more expensive than in frikken Belgium..!

I work with a guy who just returned from the Netherlands, and he was going on so long about how cheap and fast broadband was over there, that I eventually had to slap him.

I am not trying to compare us to any other country when I make my statement Digger.

The guavamint made some numerous stupid decisions that have held the fixed-line telecommunications development in this country back by at LEAST 5 years, and probably closer to 10 years at the moment.

Cost is but one aspect of the problems in this country.

Just wondering why you would HQ your high tech business on a farm? Anyway I'm sure the products probably exist in SA but like I said for high speed wireless (indoors, outdoors, downlink, uplink, whatever), you gonna get a fright when they quote you. You have been warned ;)

2 buisneses in 1. my wife and I world gloablly in a virtual world and do it from Dubai mostly from a home office or when we travel. I have a farm which I want to come back to so put the 2 together and whalla , 3 seperate buisinesses run from 1 location.

To be quite honest, in the Main hubs our internet speeds are much improved and the networks have the capacity to cope with high volumes of data. I wouldnt say we on par with the rest of the world but with Seacom we're getting there. The only gripe is the price and infrastructure to areas like yours Giles. My brother has the "Cell C speed stick" again that depends on location as to see what type of speeds you get, but its not bad.

Have a look at this SA Boy:

http://mybroadband.co.za/news/reviews/17573-VSAT-Internet-from-Liquid-Telecom-tested.html

thanks for that . read the article and it seems like the thing for us on the farm , but fuck me its expensive, R7000 a month for unlimited broadband is ridiculous, its like the price of a small car for a years internet, fucking rip off. Its 15x the price we pay in Dubai for broadband. This is going to be an issue I see.

Next question, Anyone here have kids?

Whats are nursery school costs like?

^^ Can't help on the kids front... I may never breed! :nuts:

But, having a high-tech or highly-skilled enterprise based on a farm this close to Cape Town is no problem. This is the 21st century and provided communication is up to scratch, a company can be based almost anywhere.

With my operations, I faced a similar problem in Rawsonville, just Worcester side of Paarl. Internet is a constant issue and I use wireless broadband, but often, the bandwidth leaves much to be desired. The only other option we have out here is literally dial-up through old Telkom copper lines. Telkom doesn't upgrade their infrastructure in rural areas, so Mweb and others' are not able to penetrate the market.

The costs are high, set up costs over R3000 and subscription fees for a 1Gig cap around R250. So yes, the people are right; you're rural in SA, you pay for information connectivity.

However, the lifestyle and the waking up to Guinea Fowl noises, mountains and vines can make the added expense worth it. However, after the last couple days, if you're living near Paarl, make sure you have an aircon in your bedroom and TV at least. It gets damn hot at times! ;)

Just spent the weekend out at Pearl Valley near Paarl - can't describe the beauty and the freshness, the feel of the land out there. Makes you all emotional. Living there is worth plenty.

thats why we are moving there.
Staying in Boschenmeer for 2 weeks in June to get the feel of the place but in Dec probably moving into Pearl valley.

thats why we are moving there.
Staying in Boschenmeer for 2 weeks in June to get the feel of the place but in Dec probably moving into Pearl valley.

pearl valley estate? they should have fast adsl?

should have for the year im there but it the next year ie 2013 when im in my new farm hosue that im worrirs about

By then things may have moved on again, probably be cheaper/more accessable.

Pearl Valley is the biz...

Schools: Bridge House, Somerset College

big schools we are covered on and have interviews at the right ones . its Kindy now im focusing on for my twins, but so many in Paarl but no idea which is good , bad or indifferent.

big schools we are covered on and have interviews at the right ones . its Kindy now im focusing on for my twins, but so many in Paarl but no idea which is good , bad or indifferent.

La Rochelle is good in Paarl but for girls.
Other good schools I think called PaarlVallei? They offer A levels.

Kindy as in Kindergarten

Some private schools may offer pre 1,2 and 3.

I thought you may find this report interesting, Giles (and other SAfers overseas considering returning)...

----------------

Hope returns -- behind high walls
HAMILTON WENDE
Jan 07 2011 01:00

It's another day stuck in Johannesburg's traffic.

Nearly two miserable hours later I reach my destination -- a town house in Sandton where Clint and Emma Lamont have been staying since their return to South Africa after a decade in London.

"We came back for the lifestyle," Clint tells me. I am deadpan, thinking of the past two hours. But I know what he means -- this country has a hold on people that is hard to define.

"I always wanted to come home and in the last year or so it really started to get to me." He looks at Emma. "We talked about it for a long while, but I was always keener than her." The turning point was the birth of their son, Nate, just over a year ago.

"Things were difficult for me," Emma says. "It was then that I realised that we were really on our own living in London."

"It wasn't an easy decision career-wise," Clint says. '"It was hard to find a job. But I wanted to come home long before the economic crash. And the feeling got stronger the older I got and the longer I stayed away."

Emma is thoughtful. "The London experience displaces you. I went at 23 for a year for the independence and to see the world, and suddenly I found I'd been there for 11 years."

Adds Clint: "We missed a sense of connectedness. I never felt like a British citizen."

Returning home
They are part of a growing number of mostly thirtysomething South Africans who have returned to the country in the past two years. Exact numbers are hard to find but a recent CNN report quoted a British employment survey which found that about 100 000 South African job-seekers were planning to return home.

Stuttafords Van Lines says that 80% of their current business is "returning residents".

Charles Luyckx, the chief executive of Elliott International, says: "In the last 24 months we've seen a significant increase in South Africans coming home. It's mostly people in their 30s or early 40s.

"There's a number of reasons. There are a lot of opportunities here, Europe is falling apart and then, of course, there's the weather."

John Herbst, the national sales executive of Pam Golding Properties, said that he had seen a number of South Africans who had let their properties no longer renew leases because they were returning from overseas to live in the country again.

Why is this happening? As the rental trends seem to indicate, and as the Lamonts point out, many returning South Africans never intended to emigrate, or perhaps went overseas for a while on contract.

Attractive SA
The HSBC Expat Explorer Survey of 2010 rates South Africa as the fifth most attractive place for expatriates to live in, behind Thailand, Canada, Bahrain and Spain -- while the United States is ranked 16th and Britain 20th. About 24% of expatriates living in South Africa are retired.

Martine Schaffer, from the Homecoming Revolution, said that the shift began with the economic crash of 2008.

"We'd been working since 2003 and were going against the grain of the thinking at the time. The dinner party conversations were all about 'where are you going?' People didn't have hope and people weren't coming back."

The CNN report estimates that up to 20% of South African professionals, almost exclusively white, have left the country since 1995 -- a loss of about 800 000 people, from a white population of 4,5-million.

Schaffer said this year's World Cup was a tipping point. "We were allowed to be proudly South African and many who came back for the World Cup marvelled when they came," she said. But not all the returnees are white.

Durban-based Lucky Sithole said: "I'd been in London for five years on a contract that ended about the time of the World Cup. I wanted to come back and be part of the magic. And it was a good call. We live in a beautiful country and my friends and family were so embracing."

The difficulties
Sithole said he had been on a roller coaster of emotion. "I lived in London for five years and got used to the independence there. Here I can't survive without a car, the internet is much slower -- little details like that are difficult to adjust to."

But his biggest problem is that he hasn't found a job. "I get discouraged sometimes, but I know it's a bad time of the year and I'm positive I'll find one early in 2011."

He says that some in the black community questioned his move overseas. "There's a sense from some people, especially those who don't know me, that I've betrayed the country. They ask if I'm like those white people who think the country is unsafe.

"But I say to them, 'If you had the opportunity to work overseas, would you take it?' That usually shuts them up."

Crime remains the biggest negative. Emma's stepfather was murdered in April last year while they were deciding to return, and that nearly persuaded them to stay put. Clint points to the high walls of his gated community. "We would definitely not be here if we couldn't live somewhere like this. My biggest concern is Emma's safety.

"You can't resolve that dilemma. We've minimised the risk, but when you come here, you know in the back of your mind that something will happen to you. You just hope that it won't be catastrophic."

Something fundamental is shifting in South Africa. Schaffer said: "When we started it was almost exclusively white, but now the mix has changed."

For almost 50 years after World War II, the world and many South Africans themselves expected the worst of the country. The insidious legacy of swart gevaar (black danger) has deep roots and the failure of many African countries after independence -- and the chaos in Zimbabwe -- did not help.

It appears to be a generational thing. Those under 35 inhabit a different country from that of their parents.

Emma speaks for many of them: "Crime always worried me. But it was never my reason for going. I never felt insecure about South Africa's future.

"The world has changed. After 2008 South Africans overseas began asking themselves: 'What am I doing here?' Those who come back are often excited by what they see, and the perspective they bring is important for the country."

http://www.mg.co.za/article/2011-01-07-hope-returns-behind-high-walls

I think personally, my overseas experiences have allowed me to be proud of South Africa now.
Being back here, I can compare things, developments, roads, entertainment options and leisure facilities, or even a day at the beach or wilderness - whatever, and I have a yardstick. And I go - yes, this is actually very good, or world class - I dont have to put a 'but' after every good comment.
'But' nothing - we have a lot of world class stuff here, I know this having travelled and lived overseas extensively.
More importantly, we are now allowed to acknowledge this, especially in the light of some of the struggles the 'wealthy' nations are experiencing.

In short, I think it is becoming mainstream to 'like' South Africa, without having to justify that feeling.

Hey guys, I need some help. I have a family member whos finished high school (Spain) and wants to do university in SA for family reasons.
Problem is it can only be night school, but money is no problem. Area of choice would be Gauteng or CPT and course is engineering or project management. Can anyone help, thanks in advance.
Marco

marco when you comming back?

Ill be back between August, September, with wife, kid and dogs:)

to joeys?

you bugger are beating me home, im back 1 december

Dont know yet SA Boy, Im going too open up business, (Renewable Energy). Joeys is my hometown, but I looovvvee the WC area.
Shhh I better not say that or Nostra might think Im a bloody agent for the DA:)

Well generally it seems that the WC is the place thats leading the Renewable Energy drive atm.....

So maybe being in Joeys would be a better business opportunity... not sure though

Ha these are the okes my neighbour on his farm has

http://www.paarlonline.co.za/

they have the satalite thingy and violaa 24/7 internet with no drop outs and okes stealing cables

Ja, there is always a plan here, bru...

Always a plan..

You just have to try figure out what kinda of traffic usage you guys do, and if its large.. whether a 512kbps connection will be good enough.

whats 512.... LOL, we had that 10 years ago, never mind im sure things will improve over time. small price to pay for living back in SA

That they will...

But just get used to it being slow, thats all... Things take time to adjust here unfortunately.

Dont know yet SA Boy, Im going too open up business, (Renewable Energy). Joeys is my hometown, but I looovvvee the WC area.
Shhh I better not say that or Nostra might think Im a bloody agent for the DA:)

lol...

Just buy a 4mb line for internet.

Just buy a 4mb line for internet.

That unfortunately probably won't be available on the farm he will be staying on.

But its worth checking out though, rather than just dismissing it out right.

That unfortunately probably won't be available on the farm he will be staying on.

But its worth checking out though, rather than just dismissing it out right.

He said he doesn't have a Telkom line

He said he doesn't have a Telkom line

we have them but they keep disapering and it takes 2 months to replace. copper seems to be good business. Mobile phone coverage is great though

we have them but they keep disapering and it takes 2 months to replace. copper seems to be good business. Mobile phone coverage is great though

If you have Telkom lines then a 10 or 4 meg uncapped line should be a no brainer. Get the satellite solution as a backup.

cool whats DSTV cost these days for the duel view so my lighty can watch cartoons while dad watchs sharks clap province

500?

same as what I was paying for DSTV in Dubai

Dual view no longer exists. Not sure what they call it these days but you need to buy extra decoders for extra feeds

Xtra View :)

Dual view no longer exists. Not sure what they call it these days but you need to buy extra decoders for extra feeds

Dualview still exists , the non hd pvr's , but they introduced xtra view because the hd pvr's can only play one channel at a time so now you can link them up ( compatible decoders ) . Weve got a hd pvr extra view setup , but the technology so far has been very unstable...

Dualview still exists , the non hd pvr's , but they introduced xtra view because the hd pvr's can only play one channel at a time so now you can link them up ( compatible decoders ) . Weve got a hd pvr extra view setup , but the technology so far has been very unstable...

Dualview decoders have been discontinued and are no longer sold. Some stock is still kept for swap-outs of faulty decoders but that's about it. The new 'dualview' is xtra view.

eeesih , I still have my DSTV decoders from when we had DSTV in Dubai. Have the duel view and the old normal one.

next question, do all SA mobile operators offer blackberry and Iphone 4,s?
do they still do free handsets with a 2 year package thingimajig or should I bring new handsets with me from Dubai?
If so whats the best provider (annman you live out my way who has best coverage on paarl?)

All operators seem to have Blackberry packages... MTN and VC have the iPhone 4 on their networks..

They all still do 2 year contracts with free handsets, but you can get contracts without as well if you have your own phones that you want to use.

Coverage is the key to who you choose...at least mtn, vc and cellc have coverage maps on their sites that are actually pretty accurate.

yip been looking at the packages on the websites but once convering to US$ to comapre against mine currently they seem very high as a basic subscription. Neverthe less thats the price you pay for comming home so now its just a case of finding the right deal for us. Might set it up when im back in June.

Another question. I have a SA drivers lcience (credit card type) that expired in 2004. Can these be simply reissued with a new current one of do Ihave to do a driving test?
Wonder if its simply easier for my wife and I to convert current UAE driving licences?

If you have the credit card license you can just get it reissued.. no problems.

You will need to get a temporary license in the meantime, but you shouldn't have to redo your driving test at all.

cool then Ill drive on my UAE licence with a car hire till new credit acrd one comes.

Can you convert a UAE one? or will my mrs have to do a test?

I don't know the process of converting, but I'm sure she will be able to convert it...

The total number of days between Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 and Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 is 92 days.

This is equal to exactly 3 months.

The total time span from 2011-03-29 to 2011-06-29 is 2,208 hours.

This is equivalent to 132,480 minutes.

You can also convert 92 days to 7,948,800 seconds.

You think Im counting down?????

Nah, I think you're just planning properly :P

Always nice to have your numbers sorted out.

less now