Are you happy in South Africa?

home is always best.there is nowhere in the world which may be better than one,s original home.its only economic situations which make me to endure the hardships and disadvantages associated with migrants or non citizens.they are disfranchised in almost all aspects of their lives compared to the citizens.

the problem in rsa is that the citizens are also feeling the economic pinch and would always wrongly pinpoint at foreigners

it will be better if it rains in drought stricken southern africa,so that we can benefit direct from God.

i thak you.

Nope. Can't discuss politics here

Each and every country has got its own pros and cons and in most cases its not really necessary to distinguish your own home to someones home that's where malicious attire find its source.However its better to  pinpoint what you have achieved in a current host country of which u didn't when you were in your country and what you have  achieved in your country and your host country  haven't  given you a chance to perpetuate  with it ,if we can look on both sides of the same  coin both has got great influence on our dairy trip and lesson we learnt as we go on with our lives.For example people leave their mother land and voyage to someones home for different reasons
  like  myself I came here with the aim of whole loads of green pasture howbeit my plans right now ain't the way I wanted em to be,
I only thank God that I am a survivor today through his grace.
My host country has played a big role towards my journey so endless interns of my career since it has broaden up my way in tourism and hospitality but all of these it's root its my homeland

Priscilla  I am not sure if you have ever traveled and go out of my host country and experience the life of other people
I am sure you would be in my shoes and feel how I feel
It feels good when you travel and explore the world but it takes a lot to live happily in a foreign country

Let me conclude by sayin
Both of the countries I have lived so far they are  the reason why I am neutral today.

As much as  i believe that home is where you hang your hat, there is no place like home.

I think you tend to be more happy in your own space, your own territory and own comfort zone , i always say for every application that a local South African needs 3 documents, as an alien you need 6 documents. Its not easy being an alien and as much as life is OK, i wouldn't say that i am happy here.

i think the majority of locals are not so happy economically but are better off when compared to apatheid era.the economy is also affected by the globerly trends of depression with the rand loosing power against major currencies.this affects the whole of africa.inflation is knocking on doors time and again.

personal i am not so happy in south africa but am better off economically than at my home country.

Right now I'm in Canada and things are turning cold so I wish I was anywhere other than here. I haven't been in SA for some time now and I really miss the place. Not sure how well things are going on the political scene, hopefully change is afoot and the government is started to change for the better with new parties starting to have a stronger voice.

I agree with you tina.being an foreigner  is not easy.its like a hidden way of slavery

Hi Priscilla
Yes i can say am happy considering the fact that it's better than back home coz of economical hardships. To tell u the truth being in a foreign land will never be easy. We struggle to get everything. Survival of the fittest. The people here are friendly though some have got mixed feelings towards foreigners.

South Africa I had very bad experience last few years.peole of South Africa most of them are very uncultured.they are not so friendly.in location & villages of south Africa local people they make target to the foreigners.every after two days we heard a news of one foreigner die.here people doesn't have money,unemployment is high,crime rate is higher than others.peole are really struggling in South Africa.government doesn't take any steps to control.all in all here there is no peace....

Happiness in South Africa.

I've been on both sides and in the middle!  Between myself and my parents we are born in three different countries so coming to terms with being happy, is knowing who I am first and having a healthy respect for those different to me.

I think an individual decides first what happiness is to them, then they define that as happiness in a country.  For instance, if you really think the cold is a bitter pill, then you will love warm countries.  If you cannot get work in your own country and are forced to reside in others for financial reasons then happiness comes second to financial support, but for some, financial support is happiness.  If you are a couple working in different countries you may dislike the country you're in just because you're apart from your loved one, even if you are in a beautiful friendly country, you may not be happy because your heart is torn apart.

I loved living in Malawi.  It has it's cons, it can be very poor, rough, you take a risk with Malaria and other things, and it also depends which part you live in.  I was up north and I could see the Tanzania mountains from my verandah - a house without glass panes, electricity or water - but it was bliss!  Happiness for me is living in remote areas that are less populated so, waking up to the sun rising over the lake every morning with the cattle cart going by while I dig over my own vegetable patch before work and queue for water, was not stressful.  So living in a big city like Johannesburg, taking two or more hours to travel on the N1 in South Africa in Johannesburg for 37km's is a cardiac arrest for me today, not happy.  So what did I do, moved closer to the job, small place, but the perk is the 7 minute drive or 30 minute walk.

I have found South Africa to be really diverse on this subject of happiness.  I find that I am happy in some parts of the country and others, I would rather not see again.  I love the Western Cape, but I get very high blood pressure living in Gauteng and I feel suffocated.  One can argue that it is pyschological, happiness is a state of mind, so yea, then my state of mind prefers the sea or remote jungle. I have also found happiness in areas near Phalaborwa and Durban but each chapter also embraces what job I am doing, who I am sharing the experience with, weather etc.  I would never work in Port Elizabeth again.  Presently in Gauteng, I am happy to be close to a loved one, but I would rather live in Cape Town.  Happiness is a way of life to me, the simpler the better and for me, the appeal of Cape Town, is a healthier way of living.

I find South Africans to have mixed feelings with expats.  Sometimes I am embraced, sometimes I am feared, sometimes respected and sometimes well, xenophobia is just plain ignorance.  The expat must be experienced enough to appreciate a people as a whole as well as an individual and realise that you will clash and be unhappy with some cultures while others, you will be happy with and want to know more.

Yes, locals get angry when foreigners work in their country, but I have also learnt that the reason the position is filled by an expat is not just a shortage of skill but a lack of enthusiasm by the locals. What many locals do not realise is that expat work is not permanent, it is meant as temporary relief in the greater sense.  Sometimes that extends to years but it is always regarded as a return ticket.  I have found that locals embrace expats with mixed feelings, some are happy, some fear them, but at the end of the day, expat or local we should embrace each other until we are torn apart because we can learn so much from each other.

I do not feel South Africa has a grip yet on the "new South Africa".  People are caught in years of history and react differently pending their culture, education and experience.  My Father was South African and he had mixed feelings but served his country, paid his taxes and returned home when his ticket came up.  In the spring of his life he was unhappy in his country but in the winter of his life, with wisdom, he came to peace with his love hate relationship of his home.  I have met some South Africans that say they are happy, and then the scale slides down to very unhappy.  It's what they have made of their lives in their unique situations and I'm talking about people that can help themselves, not those that need support. 

Being an expat is not an easy life and as an expat you have to remember at all times, you live out your suitcase, you are a guest in another country, you are an ambassador - you represent not only yourself, the company, your family but your country and your behaviour irrespective of how you are received, must be carried out diplomatically and respectively even when you just want to climb out your car on the motorway and slap someone really hard who is driving with their mobile in one hand, cigarette in the other, baby loose in car and straddling the lane at 200 miles an hour - likewise when you move to the most beautiful part of a country, and people are cutting the trees down faster than you can plant them.  Happiness for some is what you can and cannot tolerate and the decision to run or try and make a difference.

Happiness is, dealing with one country at a time, remembering who you are, who they are, get to know the country, the culture, the language.  You will find days that you are ecstatic to be in country you are in, and there will be days when you will want to quit.  You are doing yourself an injustice to compare your host country to home.  Every country has its own problems and beauty, but when you travel, you carry your home in your heart, you do not lose it in a luggage bay.  Happiness is a state of mind and the negotiation with your heart, a coming to peace with whatever place you are dealt or chose to be in, to make the most of it, and to touch a life.

Happiness for me in South Africa, is embracing the good and the bad, accepting what I can and cannot do, finding a middle ground,  make it home in the moment.  Happiness is  that my cat travels with, home is when I feel him purr!  Happiness for my cat in South Africa - food options!! 

Wishing all expats to have a happy experience!

Really well said