I often get asked the question… “What’s it like living there?” The truth? I find it hard and amazing in equal measures. I could go on about the hard stuff but I won’t. The challenges are not that major to be honest. What makes some things hard is not that they’re bad but rather that they’re different. […]

This article is not meant to belittle the horrible events that occurred in Paris on 13 November but to highlight the notion that the winds of change have brought new terrors that should make one rethink traditional conceptions of safety. Eleven-Thirteen (11-13) is another infamous date to be added to 9-11 and 7-7; another senseless act of terror; another deadly […]

One scene in Soft Vengeance will always stay with me: Two men sit in a TV studio for BBC’s Hard Talk. One is a British journalist, the other a smiling, heavily accented, one-armed man in a colourful African traditional shirt. “Is forgiveness too cheap for the kinds of crimes committed under apartheid in South Africa?” the journalist […]

There’s a resounding message from South Africans abroad: “Let’s get together this Saturday!” It’s the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal. South Africa vs Wales. At Twickenham. Kicks off at 5pm SA time. Where will you be? We’ve been inundated with messages from expats around the world wanting to know where they can watch the game in […]

South Africa will have at least one representative in the crowd tonight at the Bafana Bafana match in Costa Rica. She’s South African expat Elizabeth Cubas who’ll be patriotically cheering for her country all the way! “I have been living in Costa Rica for about eight months and loving it here,” she says. “I do miss […]

The Rugby World Cup (RWC) match between the RSA and the USA kicks off in less than an hour…and we’ll probably all have our eyes on our boys in green and gold, and on one member of the USA team. Number 9. Niku Kruger. It’s a big night for the South African expat. Playing for […]

A few months ago, my host mother in South Africa shared a nugget of wisdom which I found quite profound. She said, “Lydia, sometimes you look and wait for a sign towards something when actually, you’ve already been given the sign, you just missed it because you chose not to see it or it wasn’t what […]

Two young and eager fans of sports sensation Cameron van der Burgh were bitterly disappointed today to not watch the South African swim in Singapore after hazy conditions caused Saturday’s FINA World Cup finals to be cancelled. They were all dressed up with nowhere to go. But their disappointment soon turned to joy after the swimming star – who won two Golds and […]

South African expat CORNEL MARAIS, who has been living overseas for nine years and is now based in Hong Kong, answers the Top 20 Questions South Africans at home have for an expat*… [button color=”” size=”” type=”]1[/button] Why did you cop out – didn’t you have the guts to stick it out for the long run? […]

Congratulatory messages of pride and support have been pouring in for Trevor Noah from his fellow South Africans all over the planet…as television viewers in America, and parts of the world, get ready for the South African comedian’s debut on Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show’ in a few hours’ time. Whilst Trevor will be alone in that […]

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has revealed to Vogue magazine that he was bullied at school whilst growing up in South Africa. In an article headed “Elon Musk Wants to Change How (and Where) Humans Live”, Musk – who went to school in Johannesburg and Pretoria – says that the bullying was so bad that there was […]

At least 2,000 South Africans have lost their citizenship since 2010 after becoming the citizens of other countries, the Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, said on Monday. In reply to a question from the Democratic Alliance in parliament, Gigaba said about 500 South Africans a year had lost their citizenship in the past four years. He […]

Braaivleis, bokke fans, free toilets and thunderstorms. These are a few of the things that South Africans abroad miss most according to a fun new list on Matador Network. The list – 19 things South Africans miss most when they’re abroad – was compiled by South African blogger Caroline van Looy. Take a look and then let us know if […]

I used to think anxiety and depression were all a load of hogwash, those things cray-cray, pill-popping people go through; until, quite suddenly, I woke up as an expat living abroad and didn’t feel at all myself. It started with a panic attack in the middle of the night, when I was woken up by […]

After Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba reassured the media and public last week on Thursday that a review of dual citizenship is not on the cards, it has been revealed today that the government is gathering statistics on South Africans with dual citizenship. A message sent to South Africans in the Philippines this morning, from the […]

While the South African Post Office (SAPO) is seemingly on the road to recovery with major re-engineering initiatives for “the sole benefit of its customers”, a newly launched corporate strategy, new board of non-executive directors and the search for a new CEO after the recently announced “mutual termination” with the Group CEO Christopher Hlekane – there are still […]

There are currently no plans to review South Africa’s dual citizenship laws, the government said today. Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said this on Thursday when briefing journalists in response to media reports that the African National Congress (ANC) was considering a review of dual citizenship laws at its upcoming National General Council. He appealed for […]

When the six of us – my husband, myself, and our four children – first arrived in South Africa in 2010, it seemed like an alien and exotic land to us. There was much to learn navigating everyday life, even though, coming from the United States, we thought we shared a common language. I published the […]

The United States Diplomatic Mission to South Africa issued a security message in Pretoria today – Tuesday 8 September 2015 – warning of a “terrorist threat to U.S. interests in South Africa.” The message for its US citizens reads: “The U.S. Diplomatic Mission to South Africa has received information that extremists may be targeting U.S. […]

South African tennis player Kevin Anderson (29) powered through to his first Grand Slam quarter final on Monday night…knocking Britain’s Andy Murray (28) out of the US Open at Flushing Meadows. It was a brilliant match, the longest in the tournament so far (four hours and 18 minutes), ending with – as tennis veteran John McEnroe described it […]

I am getting serious questions this week whether with the Rand hitting such weak lows, now is the time to repatriate money from overseas. That’s akin to asking whether we are hitting the Rand bottom. In 2000-2001 it took a while for certainty to get home that things really were out of control for a […]

A report in the Sunday Times over the weekend that the African National Congress (ANC) is considering changing its dual-citizenship rules – and requiring South Africans to hold only one passport – has had a negative and sometimes sobering response from South Africans abroad. Replying to a question on SAPeople’s facebook page on how they would react […]

The Daily Show has uploaded another teaser video in the lead up to South African comedian Trevor Noah’s debut as host of the popular American television show, this time reassuring viewers that it will still be the same show they’ve always loved. The award-winning Comedy Central show posted the short video skit on Facebook and described […]

According to a survey by an international website InterNations, South Africa rates as one of the Top 20 best countries in the world to raise a family…but there is a caveat! Over 14,000 foreign expats from different countries around the world took part in the survey – rating the new countries they are currently residing in. While South […]

South Africans in Europe recently enjoyed a get-together in Belgium… Where they had a weekend of sharing stories and experiences of life abroad, and indulging in all their favourite South African dishes. They even made their own boerewors! And had a lekker braai. All the ladies were there… And the ‘manne‘ of course! And the next generation […]