City-living or suburb-setting?

Despite the fact that South Africa’s economy is up one the day and down the next, local businesses are continuing to thrive, grow and expand – especially in key metropolitan hubs such as Sandton, the Cape Town CBD, Joburg's East Rand and Pretoria. Needless to say, almost every Tom, Dick, Harry and Sally have had to set their sights on one of these hubs for work.

While working and playing in the many cosmopolitan and metropolitan areas of South Africa has become all the rage nowadays, it has brought with it one huge dilemma: where do I live? Do I opt to for a city dwelling where space is crammed, property prices are high but work and social life abound or do I choose the suburbs with freedom of space, affordable property but traffic is part of your every day reality?

Hashtag: millennial problems. But, nonetheless, relevant to the time we’re living in. So, if you find yourself having to toss a coin between city-living or a suburb-setting, read on – we’ve outlined the benefits of both, so that you decide which one is best suited to your specific needs.

While not all suburbs in South Africa are necessarily affordable in price, property owners are more likely to get more value for money on a home in the suburbs than that in a city. Why? Well, cities are generally made up of sectional title apartment blocks where square metres are limited. In addition, property demand is often much higher in the cities, which results in higher property prices – in other words: the price of a two bedroom apartment in a city can likely cost the same as a three bedroom (or bigger) home with a garden in the suburbs. Ka-ching!

There are some pretty good schools located within many city centres in South Africa, but the suburbs are typically speaking still favourable when it comes to good schools. More than just impacting your child’s education, a good school in your area will also affect your property price. “A good school in a good suburb can and will go a long way in ensuring that your property prices will remain stable; in fact it can increase it above the average rate,” explains Wayne Albutt, National Sales Manager at the Rawson Property Group. “We’re seeing more and more that potential property owners are making real estate decisions based on the availability of good education for their children - good schools are, and will be in the foreseeable future, the best guide to a great real estate investment,” he adds.  

Nothing says it’s the weekend in South Africa as much as that sweet-smoke-smell of meat grilling on the braai. Even better is if it’s coming from your backyard… Truth is, as we all know, suburban homes come with more square metres – many times (if not always), including a garden – than those in the city. Sounds appealing, right Braai-Meesters? Oh, of course, it also means that there’s a playground for your children to run around. Win-win!

While people who live in the suburbs could pay more for rates and taxes (depending on property size and your municipality’s rates), and fork out a pretty penny in a month on petrol, research has proven that the cost of living is potentially lower in the suburbs than in the city. Commonly, city-dwellers tend to live day to day and spend more money in a month on entertainment and eating out, while those living in the suburbs are more likely to do weekly and/or monthly grocery shops and keep dinners as a treat. In our eyes it’s just the perfect excuse to save for a family holiday…

THE PERKS OF CITY-LIVING 

We need not mention that many businesses choose to operate in metropolitan areas, merely because there’s a higher density of foot traffic. This often means that employment opportunities are literally on your doorstep, and networking opportunities are around every corner. We bet that a promotional position at a new company might help balance the high property prices of living in the city.  

South Africa is truly a rainbow nation and, for many, the city is where it comes alive. “Urban areas are filled with a diverse array of people – locals, foreigners and tourists – more amenities like restaurants and clubs and, they generally, have a good public transport system – all of these combined create a tangible buzz and vibe of diversity,” says Wayne. In other words, if you’re a social butterfly, the city will sure make your heart flutter.

While certain corners in certain cities are undoubtedly danger zones, living in the city can actually be much safer than a number of suburban and rural areas. Why, you ask? “Residential property in city-centres is generally made up of sectional title properties, and these tend to include a number of shared costs of facilities and amenities – one often being good security features,” explains Wayne. “In addition, sectional title properties are usually tall apartment blocks, which by a degree is more difficult for anyone to invade.” In addition, city streets tend to be busier than those of the suburbs – meaning that opportunistic criminals are more likely to target the quiet, unsuspecting suburban streets than those of the city. 

It really goes without saying that the higher population density in urban areas will ultimately result in a bigger need for goods and services – meaning there are many opportunities to start your own enterprise; not to mention the potential foot traffic that will see your product or make use of your services). Now, all you have to do is to identify the gap in the market…