Returning Home to South Africa with Hester and Johan Pieterse - E7
The Relocated South African | Emigration storiesPlay episode
Show notes
What makes a young South African couple decide to move to a country they've never even visited? And, after nearly a decade abroad, what makes them choose to return home?
In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Hester and Johan Pieterse, who originally left Cape Town in 2016 for Ireland. They didn’t know anyone there, and hadn’t even visited Ireland before making the jump – talk about taking a leap of faith! Over the next nine years, they built careers, started a family, and eventually became Irish citizens. But as you’ll hear, the pull of family and sunshine drew them back to South Africa.
Unlike most of the conversations I've had with other South Africa emigrants, Hester and Johan never planned on relocating permanently. My wife and my plan had always been to make the move for good, so it was refreshing to talk to people with a completely different experience of relocating.
“You can go and come back. You’ve got nothing to lose” - Hester Pieterse
00:00 Introduction
04:36 Visiting South Africa
06:55 Cost of living in Cape Town
12:31 Getting Irish citizenship
18:27 Would you have done anything differently?
19:46 Underestimating the red tape
20:46 Considering safety in South Africa
23:50 The decision to return to South Africa
26:07 Do you have any local friends considering emigrating?
27:18 Shielded from local politics
28:48 Advice for relocating with kids
31:41 Things we miss about Ireland
This podcast was produced by the team at Zapods Podcast Agency:
https://www.zapods.com
