Many foreigners are drawn to South Africa as a retirement destination due partly to the value-for-money property prices.
Many young South Africans are looking to work overseas, but the older generation has shown that this could be a mistake, especially when looking at financial matters.
According to the Decoding Global Talent survey, South Africa has a much higher mobility rate than the global average of 63%, as 79.5% of South African respondents said that they’d be willing to move and work abroad.
This number increased to 84% when considering young South Africans.
However, the inverse is also happening, with many foreign nationals, including those from the United Kingdom, choosing South Africa as a retirement destination.
In a parliamentary Q&A last year, then Minister of Home Affairs (current health Minister) Aaron Motsoaledi provided the total number of retirement visa applications received and approved, as well as the countries from which these applicants came.
Motsoaledi said that over the past two years, South Africa had received roughly 3,645 retirement visa applications from foreigners residing in 112 countries, 1,654 of which were approved, while 1,449 were pending.
The data also reveals that the top five countries for retirement visa applications are the UK, China, Germany, the USA, and Bangladesh, accounting for 1,824 of the total applications.
Many immigration specialists, such as Integrate Immigration, said that the main reason that foreigners move to South Africa is the standard of living, as euros and dollars can afford these foreigners a better lifestyle and a cheaper cost of living.
On top of this, Integrate Immigration said that a major draw for foreigners is house prices.
Household support services, such as domestic workers and gardeners, are also considerably cheaper than in many first-world countries.
When comparing English and South African properties across the three biggest cities in each country, it is clear that South Africa offers more bang for your buck than the UK, especially in the higher price brackets.
At the time of writing, R10 million equates to roughly £430,000.
Although R10 million can buy one 10-bedroom house in Houghton, Johannesburg (one of the most sought-after areas in the city), it can only buy a 2-bedroom house on the outskirts of London.
Expensive South African properties also tend to be detached and separated from their neighbours, whereas English houses tend to be built next to each other—more akin to a townhouse than what South Africans would consider a house.
In addition, South African houses tend to have more bathrooms than in England, where a 3-bedroom house may only come with one bathroom.
Due to the notably sunnier weather, luxury South African properties tend to have pools to cool down. Pools in residential properties are rare in England, and for the lucky few that have them, they tend to be undercover.
Below are properties on the market in the UK and South Africa for roughly R10 million:
UK Property
- 2-bedroom House in Chingford, London
- Price: £450,000 (R10.4 million)
South African Property
- 10-bedroom house in Houghton, Johannesburg
- Price: R10,000,000
- 3-bedroom house in Orangezicht, Cape Town
- Price: R9,999,000
- 5-bedroom house in Morningside, Durban
- Price: R9,500,000
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