Working in Sandton, Johannesburg (South Africa)

BossArky

Anyone care to share their experiences of work in the Sandton suburb of Johannesburg in South Africa?

I have a chance to go there for a while with work. Currently I'm in two minds. I don't have to go.

Apparently it is Africa's richest square mile

Dangerous? Boring? Fun? Possibility of Safari close by? Any random advice?

Thanks.

janullrich

Go. What a opportunity. It sounds great and it will be a great experience as long as u research it beforehand.

donegal1

Go, it should be a good experience.

Sandton City is a popular tourist mall, with lots of good restaurants and shops.

There's no "safari" very close by, but you'll be able find one within a few hours drive. There are a few game reserves like Kruger National Park (about 4 hours from Johannesburg), Pilanesberg Game Reserve next to Sun City is an easy one-day trip, the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve is close to Johannesburg and the Lion Park is very close to Sandton.

Sandton is relatively safe, definitely not dangerous. You should have no problems as long as you follow some common sense. As everywhere in SA there are some problems with crime like "smash & grabs" and carjackings etc but it really won't affect you, just don't drive to unknown areas (like Johannesburg CBD) without getting advice.

You'll need to get a rental car with GPS, don't use public transport. Private taxis can be expensive.

mikeruurds

Hi BossArky

Sandton is probably one of the safer places in Joburg. I'd jump at the opportunity if it were offered to me.

The only crappy thing would be that morning traffic is a nightmare and you could end up commuting for 3 hours a day. Try and find out if your employer can get you accommodation in or near Sandton.

My dad lives in Joburg, so I can help with any more specific questions if you like.

i am currently in vanderbijlpark,bout 40 mins south of joburg, soon supposed to be moving to midrand which if my geography is correct isnt too far from sandton. midrand and sandton are supposed to be the main business hubs, i assume work will pay for your accom, you'll have a great time and save a fortune, the rand goes so far. there is supposed to be a lot to see around pretoria too, i was looking up this website for things to see www.sa-venues.com , jst do selfdrive, make sure you get an international driving license cos i forgot mine and i am only sorting a car now 2 months after arriving.

heard sandton has a few irish spots too, i was told by locals here that just be vigilant constantly especially pulling into a drive where you have to wait for the electric gate, if theres dodgy people there just drive on and report it and the cops will sort it.

sandton is on the better side of joburg, close to pretoria as well which is supposed to be nice and if your into soccer, brazil are playing italy in pretoris in june

Mena

I lived and worked in Sandton for nigh on ten years and loved it. It is by far the "richest" area of South Africa, Porches and Ferrari's abound. It's 2km from the poorest township in the country though, Alexandria.

Sitting in a multi-storey modern techno building overlooking that gives pause for thought.

If I was ever to go back to SA, Sandton would be my first destination. With regards to safety, hard to say, but some common sense can see you through.

What I don't miss is walking around with a 9mm strapped to my belt, though to be fair, I never had the misfortune of having to use it. In those 10 years I only lost 1 car and was only burgled once so all in all not too bad.

My opinion would be to go, it's an unmissable opportunity, but you need to decide for yourself.

BossArky

Great info everyone. Thanks!

Keep it coming.

the_syco

Are you black or white?

Also, check how much a gun will cost you over there. Any (white) person I know who lived over there has had a gun, sometimes multiple guns.

GS_DBA

Ideally Cape Town would be great but Sandton isn't to bad but like a previous poster said the commute can be a b!tch and trust me GP ( Gauteng) rush hour is nasty nothing like Dublin, so if you could get accomodation close to work it would be great for you. I would recommend a car as walking and public transport isn't something i would recommend especially after hours, other than that and just basic safety you should be fine.

Poloman

Its a no brainer! You are getting paid and you will see another part of the world. Go. End of!

BossArky

Apparently work will be walking distance from the office, plus I get a car.

Poloman wrote: »

Its a no brainer! You are getting paid and you will see another part of the world. Go. End of!

Yes yes, I know, it is a great opportunity. Trying to work out if they'll fly my other half down regularly. That is the main thing stopping me at the moment.

the_syco wrote: »

Are you black or white?

White.

the_syco wrote: »

Also, check how much a gun will cost you over there. Any (white) person I know who lived over there has had a gun, sometimes multiple guns.

Are you serious?

Iago

BossArky wrote: »

Are you serious?

I would guess so. I went to Cape Town for a couple of weeks over xmas with my wife, her aunt and uncle have lived in SA for close to 25 years. Even though Cape Town is one of the safer areas of SA they still have armed response security and two guns in the safe beside their bed. They do say that you should try to avoid walking anywhere on your own after dark.

I didn't see any crime while I was there but there were numerous reports of crime in Jo'Burg in that time. The worst was a report of a baby being killed in Jo'Burg when his mother tried to hang onto her mobile phone. They pushed her and the baby fell out under a bus. Make no mistake Jo'Burg is dangerous and SA has one of the highest rape figures in the world (around 1.4m women are raped annually) but my wifes aunt highly recommends living there and if I had a chance to move to Cape Town tomorrow I'd jump at the thought of it, fantastic weather, very high quality of life as expenditure is low and wages are reasonable and so much to see and do (although the whole ethical thing of living in luxury while others are well below the poverty line wouldn't sit well with me and I'm not sure if I could live with that)

Just make sure you research it properly and go in with your eyes open.

krust

I used to study in that area, while living in Rosebank. Safest areas to be about 6/7 years ago.

Whatever you do, don´t go strolling around in city centre (Hillbrow) :eek:

Mena

Iago wrote: »

I would guess so. I went to Cape Town for a couple of weeks over xmas with my wife, her aunt and uncle have lived in SA for close to 25 years. Even though Cape Town is one of the safer areas of SA they still have armed response security and two guns in the safe beside their bed. They do say that you should try to avoid walking anywhere on your own after dark.

I didn't see any crime while I was there but there were numerous reports of crime in Jo'Burg in that time. The worst was a report of a baby being killed in Jo'Burg when his mother tried to hang onto her mobile phone. They pushed her and the baby fell out under a bus. Make no mistake Jo'Burg is dangerous and SA has one of the highest rape figures in the world (around 1.4m women are raped annually) but my wifes aunt highly recommends living there and if I had a chance to move to Cape Town tomorrow I'd jump at the thought of it, fantastic weather, very high quality of life as expenditure is low and wages are reasonable and so much to see and do (although the whole ethical thing of living in luxury while others are well below the poverty line wouldn't sit well with me and I'm not sure if I could live with that)

Just make sure you research it properly and go in with your eyes open.

Not sure what it's like now, but when I lived there Cape Town was the "rape capital" of the world, with Jo'Burg being the murder capital. Pretty sure Baghdad has it beat now

Krust wrote:

Whatever you do, don´t go strolling around in city centre (Hillbrow)

I can't even count the number of times I've walked around Hillbrow alone or with a small group of people. Yes it's dangerous but then so is crossing the road.

Just to add to my first post, common sense will keep you safe most of the time, but never, ever rely on public transport. Ever. Get a car.

My initial advice stands, go for it. You'll never regret the experience and the lifestyle (if you can get used to living behind bars) is amazing.

mikeruurds

I lived there for 24 years and never needed a gun. Just use some common sense and find out which areas to avoid at certain times of the day/night.

South Africa is dangerous, but fearmongering doesn't help.