Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
City slickers flee bright lights
Small town beckons those tired of rat race, traffic and ‘9 to 5’ lifestyle
“THAT’S it,” Jane Linda thought one morning while stuck in gridlock traffic, “I’m doing it.”
‘It’ was putting in an offer on a smallholding outside a small town in the southern Cape. This was in 2003 when Linda, a 31-year-old single mother and psychologist, decided she owed her baby a different lifestyle.
Who hasn’t thought of abandoning the stress of the city and beginning a new life in the country – trading traffic, a 9 to 5 job and crime for fresh air, freedom and a place of peace and happiness?
Increasingly, city slickers like Linda are looking to flee the big lights of the city for the calm of the country.
One of the areas where estate agents have noticed people are looking to settle is the magical Karoo – the expansive, big sky country in South Africa’s heartland.
“Many people are keen to explore the tranquil countryside to escape the stresses of busy city life, and the Karoo has character-filled towns and different landscapes,” says Wayne Rubidge, Pam Golding Properties area principal in the Karoo.
The rat race refugees are retirees, people with jobs taking advantage of technological developments (even faraway towns have internet) to work remotely, and entrepreneurs seeking new business opportunities as the Karoo becomes an irresistible tourist destination.
Rubidge says more travellers are exploring the Karoo’s vast open spaces, national parks and game lodges, and the many small towns – and these aren’t only overseas visitors.
“Due to economic con- straints, domestic tourism has flourished, with cost-conscious South Africans eager to visit easily accessible destinations without having to cross borders or travel overseas,” he says.
This has made buying houses and converting them to B&Bs attractive to people wanting to move to the country permanently.
“Over the years, accommodation establishments have proved to be popular investments,” says Rubidge.
He says clients either come to the Karoo having done their property searches on the internet and go to a specific town to buy a property as an invest- ment or a holiday house, or, the growing trend is to seek a property to move to the country – “and the Karoo is an ongoing favourite”.
Rubidge says people travelling to the Karoo for a holiday or an event, fall in love with an area or town and decide to investigate property investment opportunities.
Seeff Properties has also noticed the trend to country living with farms just outside Graaff Reinet, the “gem of the Karoo”.
Graaff Reinet is one of the oldest towns in the country and has more national monuments than any other town or city in South Africa.
Andrew McNaughton, a Seeff agent in the Karoo, says Graaff Reinet is popular because it offers a number of alluring properties – many with original wooden floors or Victorian architecture – at affordable prices for buyers “who want to exchange the hustle and bustle of busy city life for a slice of Karoo delight”.
“The property market in Graaff Reinet is very active and there is always a shortage of rental stock.
“Average house prices range from around R900 000 to just over R1 million. These homes usually include three bedrooms or more and a swim- ming pool and garden.
“Investing in property here could afford many families with the type of home that would most probably be too expensive in larger towns and the city.”
The southern Cape farm market is also thriving.
“Seven years of good rainfall and equally good harvests have made agricultural land in the southern Cape among the most sought after in the country,” says Charles de Kock, owner of several Chas Everitt international franchises in the region.
Although Linda considered leaving the city for a lifestyle upgrade at a fraction of the price, she discovered that moving to a rural area came at a cost.
A decade later, she sold her smallholding and returned to the city.
“I missed my family and friends and struggled to get my practice off the ground. I also missed my favourite food, sushi.
“I don’t regret the move. It was the right choice at the time and I was able to give my son the opportunity to grow up in a house where he didn’t live in fear behind a big wall.
“I miss the night sky full of stars and the tranquillity of the country, especially when I’m stuck in traffic.”