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Expat guide: Johannesburg
This expat guide offers information and advice if you are moving Johannesburg. Click on the different tabs to find out about anything from tax rules and banking to education and cultural highlights.
You can also read our guides to South Africa and Cape Town.
Download this guide as a pdfMoving to Johannesburg
Expats moving to Johannesburg will discover the most populous and international city in South Africa. It is the economic hub of the country and most important financial centre on the African continent as well as the city with the most advanced infrastructure.
The pace of life in Joburg (nickname for Johannesburg) can be frenetic as business people pursue their ambitions and consumers shop with apparent disregard for high levels of debt. Johannesburg is known to locals as Egoli (Place of Gold), a reference to the concentration of gold below the ground and the proliferation of wealth above it.
There are some downsides to the lifestyle in Johannesburg. There is no viable public transport, barring the kamikaze-propelled minibus taxis. Walking is unadvised due to safety concerns and the large distances, meaning that owning a car is pretty much essential.
Johannesburg is not without beauty. The affluent suburbs are spacious, leafy and quiet, and beyond the electrified fences, you can find beautiful landscaped gardens. For those who can afford to live in these safe and bucolic neighbourhoods, Johannesburg offers an exceptionally high standard of living coupled with great economic opportunity.
The city has a reputation for violence and crime. However, the crime rate has dropped substantially over the past few years and with basic precaution and adequate home security you can maximise your levels of safety.
Johannesburg has long, hot summer days and unblemished blue skies, with spectacular late afternoon thunderstorms. Winters feature bitterly cold mornings resolving into dry, warm days.
Shipping and removals
There are numerous companies offering removal services and shipping to Johannesburg. Costs vary according to the volume of goods, and specified length of time involved in shipping. Air freight is fast but expensive.
Expect a minimum of four weeks shipping time from Europe, and three weeks from the US. Customs clearance time is hard to predict and may delay your shipment further. Note that left-hand vehicles can neither be imported into the country nor driven here.
Bringing pets
To ship pets to South Africa will involve obtaining a Veterinary Health Certificate, or equivalent, and your animals may need to undergo quarantine period of up to six months.
This content is provided by www.expatarrivals.com, copyright © 2011 Globe Media Ltd. All rights reserved. By its very nature much of the information in this travel guide is subject to change at short notice and travellers are urged to verify information on which they're relying with the relevant authorities. Neither Globe Media nor Bupa International can be held liable for any errors or omissions, or any loss, damage, illness and/or injury that may occur as a result of this information.
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