We Moved to Cape Town, South Africa!

Since we arrived in Sabie, South Africa everyone we met has told us, “You need to go to Cape Town.”  We often replied with, “What’s so great about Cape Town?”  We had been looking at Mozambique or Durban and were confused why Cape Town was so great.  Trudie extolled it’s virtues and is even planning on moving here with her husband Anton and opening a hostel.  We talked to a wonderful woman named Joey who said it was one of her favorite places on earth.  No matter who we spoke with they couldn’t explain what was so great about the Cape but they just said you have to experience it yourself.

We finally pushed the button and decided that we would head to Cape Town and it has been an absolutely inspiring experience!  We found a perfect AirBnb in the middle of Bo Kapp, a wonderful, historic Muslim neighborhood where we can hear the calls to prayer from our beautiful patio.

We’ve got an amazing view of Table Mountain and Lion’s Head from the garden and it’s a beautiful place to just sit and relax.

Our house is right in Bo Kaap and we get to walk frequently down to the many restaurants and bars on Bree Street and Long Street.  Our favorite one so far though is the local Muslim restaurant at the top of the hill called Biesmiellah which serves amazing Cape Malay Curries and other South African dishes!

We also ate a great meal at Marco’s African Place including Kudu, Crocodile and Springbok which was absolutely delicious!

The best thing about Cape Town so far though has been the people.  This place is one of the most diverse cities in the world and there are different langauges, cultures and people everywhere.  We made a new friend from Malawi who has been living here for 7 years with his wife from Mozambique.  We went to a Shawarma shop run by an Israeli immigrant.  We talked with 3 young Xhosa men in a great little coffee shop and many locals have invited us to their homes for a Braii.  We’ve even had some people from TikTok that are going to meet us and give us tours and someone who has agreed to take us to one of the townships nearby.

There are people here also who have passionate hearts for justice and fixing what is wrong with Cape Town and are working hard to fix it and we’ve been talking to them and hearing their stories.  The Spirit of Cape Town is everywhere and the people we have met so far exude this in a way we have never seen.

We understand now what makes Cape Town so great.  In spite of the many problems of wealth inequality, poverty and the woes of Spatial Planning, this is a wonderful city and it is so because of the people who, in our humble opinion, are the most hospitable people in the world!  Although we were looking forward to a Bunny Chow in Durban we are so glad we decided to move to the Cape!  After all, they’ve got the Gatsby!!!

Pictures of Cape Town

Videos of Cape Town