Re: Renting home

Have you checked out the easy expat guide to Johannesburg (http://www.easyexpat.com/en/johannesburg.htm)? It has a lot of useful info abotu moving to South Africa.In the section about finding accomadations:

"Central Johannesburg is laid out in a rectangular grid pattern with narrow streets dating back to the city's early history, although today they are lined with office towers that have inspired the nickname "Africa's Manhattan." The central city today is primarily a business district devoted to the financial and mining industries and government. Located in this district are the Magistrates Court, the Gauteng Legislature, the public library and main post office, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and the 50-story Carleton Centre with an observatory that affords an excellent view of the city. A variety of small shops and street traders provides a traditional atmosphere at odds with the city's skyscrapers. The New-town district just west of the city is home to a number of cultural institutions, including several museums. The northern neighbourhood of Braamfontein is home to the University of the Witwatersrand.

When first built, each of Johannesburg's suburbs and townships was racially restricted under the apartheid system as spelled out in the Group Areas Act. The Group Areas Act was nullified in 1991, but Johannesburg's neighbourhoods remain largely racially segregated with most Blacks living in townships close to the central city. The two most populous are Soweto, with a population of at least one-and-a-half million, and Alexandra, with about half a million. Living conditions in the townships range from middle-class enclaves to squatters' camps with no plumbing or electricity. Black migrant workers still live in hostels on the outskirts of the townships. Most of the city's mixed-race population is clustered in townships west of the central city while the Indian population lives in the township of Lenasia. The inner-city suburbs of Joubert Park, Hillbrow, and Berea are formerly White areas that Blacks began moving into when apartheid began to crumble in the 1980s and 1990s. Today they are mostly Black and house many immigrants from other parts of Africa, especially the Congo and Nigeria. The suburbs of Yeoville and Observatory, formerly Jewish and Portuguese neighbourhoods, are now multiracial areas. Johannesburg's western suburbs, including Briston and Melville, are home to middle-class Whites while the northern suburbs, such as Parktown and Houghton, are nearly all-White elite enclaves with posh homes."

Best of luck!

 

Re: Renting home

Hi Innacooper

I've lived in Jo'burg all my life, and love it!
I've helped a couple of folk set up home here in the past, and I could maybe put you in touch with them to get their first hand info.
I'm also busy setting up a website on Johannesburg, which is fairly new, but might be able to help a little!
http://www.whyjoburg.com/
Regarding your question!
Parktown is one of the old suburbs that is now very commercial, and Houghton has huge old homes. It's also where Nelson Mandela lives.
There are lots of places to recommend, but it'll need to be a 2 way discussion.
Once I get a reply from you here, I'll give more info.
Good luck.
Wiggie.

 

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