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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 1:01 pm

Johannesburg...what's it like? How's the weather in different seasons? Is it easy to find accommodations, or does one need to provide lots of references? Also, is there a lot of crime, or not much? Do most flats there have washers and dryers and dishwashing machines, or does one need to buy these things independently? Also, do the grocery shops deliver?

[EDIT] - typo
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ceenda · member Member # Joined: 27 Jun 2000 Posts: 2030

I may be mistaken, but I have heard that in Johannesburg you are allowed to install a flame-thrower on the passenger doors of your car to stop car-jacking.

I imagine it's no worse than Glasgow... Wink

Vacation or long stay?

http://www.cityguide.travel-guides.com/cities/joh/cityoverview.asp

Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 1:37 pm

WTF???? Well, it's a good thing I don't know how to drive. If I had a car with a flamethrower on it, I would probably end up roasting myself.

Hm...I notice the page you linked to mentioned a warm, dry climate...that sounds perfect. See, the thing is, I've been trapped indoors by the weather since it started getting cold here in Sweden--that was mid-October. I can't stay outside for more than a couple of minutes, or I'm in horrible health for weeks afterwards. I would like to move somewhere warm and dry, and it has to be a major city where I can get all the luxuries and conveniences that are difficult to find in a small place like Ume�. I had a list of several cities, but I've been ruling them out one by one, mostly because the climates just aren't right. (It's a shame...Tokyo sounded pretty good apart from all that rain!)

Ideally, I'd move to Texas, of course, since I've lived there before...but last time I was there I was working illegally...the INS would never let me REALLY move to America, and be a proper citizen.

So, because of these things, Johannesburg is near the top of my list right now...I don't have enough money to move right this minute, but I am seriously considering it for the future.

[EDIT] - I type...therefore I typo.
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Matthew · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 2:35 pm

Why not move more south in sweden?. Like Malm� isn�t that chilly. Smile

Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 4:12 pm

Malm� is still too small! And it still snows! If I'm going to pick up all my earthly possessions and move, I want it to be somewhere big, noisy, and snow-free...dammit! Very Happy

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Ragnarok · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 5:04 pm

I personally wont go there to live... Africa can be very unstable.
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-HoodZ- · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 5:17 pm

dont like the snow Socar? personally i like the different seasons.....hmmm nice and warm...nope cant help ya since i dont live in Europe.......man im helpful

dr . bang · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 5:28 pm

Move to NEDERLAND, with ME
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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 5:30 pm

It's not that I don't LIKE it...I think it's very beautiful. But I can't go out in it. These freezing temperatures are keeping me prisoner indoors--the cold makes my existing health problems worse. If I could get around easily, I would happily live in a small, snowy town. Sweden's a great place and I have nothing against it, but being stuck inside is no life for anyone. Sad

I don't get to go anywhere or do anything, and I rarely even see anybody. It's no fun at all...even though the snow is gorgeous, and the forests are lovely, and the summers almost make the long winters worth it. In many ways, I'll be very sorry if I do leave. But, on the other hand...living here is a problem in the winter, and that's more than half the year, from what I've seen.

Normally, I wouldn't think of moving to Africa, where I don't know a soul. But it doesn't really matter where I go--home for me is London, England, where the climate is far too damp and smoggy. I need to go somewhere warm and dry. Apart from Texas, I don't know anyone in any such place. If I could get around just a LITTLE more, I'd apply for one of those matte painting jobs everyone seems to be going for in America. But as things stand, whoever hired me would have to let me either a) LIVE in their damn studio, or b) work from home. Option A doesn't work because...well, ha ha, get serious--employees infesting one's office? Ain't gonna happen! Option B makes no sense either, because then the INS would say "Well, if you are going to work from home anyway, why do you need to come to America?"

It is very annoying to have to consider moving, because I had wanted to settle down here. And I don't have enough money to go anywhere at this precise moment, since I wasted most of my savings getting here in the first place. But I do have to think about leaving anyway, because of the weather problem.
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jr · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 5:39 pm

san diego.... isn't Johannesburg still the crime and rape capital of the world? why would anyone want to move there? i have a friend that went there for vacation 2 years ago. stayed in his hotel for 4 days, yes he's a coward, but still!!
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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 5:46 pm

Can't go to San Diego. Anywhere in America is out because of the immigration policies...they won't let me in.

Really, I only have two requirements for a place to live: It has to be a big city, and it has to be warm and relatively dry all year round. Oh, and it can't be in the United States. The climate thing rules out most of Asia and Europe, and also Australia, which is very humid. So that leaves...yeah, not much....

I suppose I should be more afraid of criminals, but...doesn't New York get more murders than Johannesburg, anyway? I always thought the crime and rape capital of the world had to be in the USA somewhere.
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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 5:50 pm

Then again...that IS a lot of crime, I stand corrected:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1916969.stm#graph

...and holy Big Brother, Batman....

http://english.pravda.ru/world/2002/01/19/25860.html

Hm, I don't know...any better suggestions?
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eyewoo · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 5:56 pm

I was at a dinner party about a year ago with a couple who lived in Johannesburg. They planned to remain there because it was their "home" but their descriptions of the quality of life was quite frightening. Crime was the primary problem. To feel safe in your home you certainly needed many strong locks and it was recomended that you knew how to use a gun. I guess if you were born and raised there, it was good cause to stay, but I'd check it out carefully before moving there.

Why not Canada... At least they know how to live in the winters, and the summers are nice. Toronto's a great town.

Well... wherever you live, it is wonderful to know that your friends will always be with you via this fantastic internet thing... Smile

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Novacaptain · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:01 pm

How about Asia? I lived in Malaysia for a couple of years and it didn't snow once!!

Stahlberg and Saripol are both there...they might give you a better idea of how it is to work there...but ASIA is big and there are a lot of other countries with big places that have a snow-free guarantee.
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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:01 pm

Just came from Canada a year ago, eyewoo...Vancouver, to be precise. The climate was even worse for me than the Swedish one is--so wet and clammy. And Toronto is pretty near Niagara Falls, where I used to live a few years before that...those cold winters are almost as bad as the ones here! So...no Canada.

I DO know how to use a gun...but I'd much rather not have to. Living behind some big ol' fence doesn't sound too appealing, either. What I'd like is somewhere like Texas or Arizona...but...not in the United States.

Hey, any Americans want to marry me?

JUST KIDDING!!!!
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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:02 pm

Malaysia? Hm, what's that like? I don't know anything about it...where are the major cities, so I can check them out on the Internet?

[EDIT] - Oh, bugger...looked it up on a weather site...sounds too humid and rainy. Sad

The irksome thing is that not only can there not be cold/severe winters, but there can't be too much rain or humidity either. All that dampness almost did for me in Vancouver.
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dr . bang · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:05 pm

Steven Stahlberg used to live in Sweeden, but now he moved to Malaysia. Same boat as you i think.

But geeze, we're living in EARTH! There's no heaven! Every place have some shitty part, make the choice of which shitty part u can live with.
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Novacaptain · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:06 pm

The major city would be Kuala Lumpur (on the peninsula). I lived in a smaller one called Kuching. It's full of people from other places so english is really all you need there.
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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:07 pm

Not looking for heaven, dr. bang...just somewhere hot and dry. Not hot OR dry...hot AND dry. Basically, I'm looking for Arizona or Texas, but outside America.
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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:10 pm

Let's put it this way: I'd almost rather live with rampant crime than constant bad health. When I lived in Texas, I enjoyed better health than I ever did anywhere else, and the climate had a lot to do with that. If I get killed by a bullet or by bad health, the bullet is faster...well, unless it's one of those messy deaths where I get shot on Monday, but gangrene gets into the wound on Friday, and then I don't die for an agonizing month. But, yah, you get the idea.
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Novacaptain · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:16 pm

Well Brazil has a lot to offer as well and you can find from tropical rainforest - desert - moutains and valleys - costal cities with beaches.

Portuguese is the language here, some might understand spanish if you speak it slowly. For daily purpouses english is useless.

Main cities:
Sao Paulo
Rio de Janeiro
Belo Horizonte
Salvador
Curitiba
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eyewoo · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:16 pm

How about Spain or Morocco?
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Novacaptain · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:17 pm

Humidity varying with altitude and proximity to sea/forests

Batteries not included
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Novacaptain · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:19 pm

Travelling within the EU is much less of a hassle
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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:21 pm

Good suggestions, eyewoo and Novacaptain--I'll definitely have to look into those. I can speak Italian, but unfortunately NOT Spanish or Portuguese. I know Spanish is somewhat similar...but how about Portuguese? Hm...maybe there's somewhere in Italy or Sicily I could go, even? But I remember a lot of rain and humidity last time I was there.

Anyway, I have plenty of time to decide where to go. I won't have enough money to move without seat-of-the-pantsing it for a while yet. I don't like zooming madly around without a good amount of ready cash to fall back on. Come to think of it, I don't like zooming madly around at all...I'm not generally the impulsive type. It's just become glaringly obvious that maybe Sweden wasn't such a good idea, after all.
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Novacaptain · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:28 pm

Socar, have you ever thought about moving to Australia? They have a big desert there...and they speak english there among other languages.

Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Canberra Perth ? are the australian city names i can remember off the top of my head.
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Novacaptain · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:31 pm

I'm actually planning on moving to umea, sweden in 4 years to study for yet another 4 years.
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Socar MYLES · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:33 pm

Yes, I did think of Australia. I noticed that Sydney was quite humid, but I didn't look up any other cities. Might be a good plan, though.

Ume�, by the way, is a beautiful place, and it's also amazingly cheap to live here. If you move here to study, I'm pretty sure you'll like it a lot. I'm not considering moving because there is anything wrong with Ume�. If my health were good, I'd stay...happily. I've loved it here since I got here...the only reason I want to leave is that since I always have to stay inside now, I might as well be in ANY city, for all I get to see of it!
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-HoodZ- · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:36 pm

ahh your looking for dry heat...yeah i like that type of weather to, i was in Nevada awhile back theres something about the desert that i like.....yeah i'd go for what Eyewoo suggest...even Italy would be nice...

Novacaptain · Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2003 6:37 pm

Thanks for the info Socar, I do hope you find yourself a nice place.
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