Should we go or should we stay?

January 2020

I am pondering this question since Hennie dropped the bomb.

In 2007 we briefly considered emigrating, and visited Australia.  Partly to see if we want to move and work there, and partly to visit friends.  On my first visit to Australia in 1997 I just LOVED Australia.  I went as a tourist and was in awe of the beautiful East Coast and especially Sydney.  I felt everything "worked".  I felt safe, there was public transport and everything was clean.  A decade later i took off the rose tinted tourist glasses and found things in Australia over controlled, property prices astronomical and faced the fact that we would have to probably settle on the West Coast.  Miles from the rest of Australia (or that is how it felt), and miles from the rest of the world.  Suddenly it did not look that attractive any more.

New World Immigration recently published the results of their survey, stating the top 10 reasons why people emigrate.  On that list that includes "improved safety and security" (#1), "better future for children"(#2), governments affirmative action policy (#4), and "higher earnings potential (#8), only number 4 resonated with us "No confidence in the future of the country" - and we are not 100% there yet.

We have discussed in the past that if either of us ever get the opportunity to work abroad for a year of two it would be great - as we would really like to immerse ourselves in a new culture - with the added safety net of a corporate behind you arranging everything.
So when this opportunity arose we were a bit dumbstruck.  This would not an expat, temporary position.  Hennie has a permanent transfer (though his company is making the move a bit easier and assist with arranging the visas).  And i know i will regret saying this in future, but the English culture just does not feel like something new that i would like to immerse myself in?

Reasons for me to stay is the wide open spaces, the friendly people and our fantastic climate.
I will miss the sound and smell of a bushveld campfire.  The exciting chatter of birds at Matombe in Botswana with sunrise.  I will miss our Langebaan sunsets over the lagoon - every day different.  Will miss the drive between Malmesbury and Hopefield with not another car in sight and the unique green of the wheat fields.  Will miss the moon landscapes and stars in the Karoo and the magnificent waterfalls of the Lowveld.  I will miss the mud huts and kids and goats in the streets driving between Nquamakwe and Tsomo in the Eastern Cape.

But most of all, I will miss my family and friends.