Jamie and Kate Litt wanted to seek a new life abroad and explore new careers. The big question was, "Where?" Words Emma Leask
Lawyer Jamie Litt and his wife, Kate, who works in asset management, had been living the London party lifestyle for 15 years. Home was a three-bedroom flat in Battersea, which they shared with their cat. “We had a very lively social life, doing everything that the big City salaries we earned allowed us to do,” says Jamie. “London is a great place when you’ve got money to enjoy it.”
While Jamie had only been abroad a couple of times, Kate had travelled the world extensively and still had itchy feet. “It took Kate over two years to convince me to make the leap to living abroad,” recalls Jamie.
They left the UK in March 2009 to volunteer in Kenya, doing six-month community internships with Global Vision International (GVI) in order to explore new careers and regions of the world. “This was our move to strike out into the world and explore something completely different, both location-wise and career-wise,” says Jamie. “The transition was a big one for me, but was hugely rewarding.”
They then bought a pick-up truck and spent three months on an epic trip driving from Kenya through Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and around South Africa before arriving in Cape Town.
“We had visited Cape Town together during our honeymoon for a week and I had always been impressed with the atmosphere,” says Jamie.
“After so long on the road, when a family friend offered us a house to settle in we couldn’t resist. Kate grew up in South Africa during her early childhood and holds dual nationality, plus her parents live six hours away in Knysna, so we decided to settle in Cape Town and try life there.”
Two months later, Jamie was offered a job with GVI as Regional Co-ordinator in the company’s new Cape Town office. “My job as a lawyer was not transferable to South Africa, as they have a different legal system, so I would have had to start from scratch again – but the last thing I wanted to do was continue being a lawyer. Kate’s financial background placed her perfectly to carry across her skills, and she is now a project manager for Investec, a large South African-based investment management company.”
Today, Jamie is GVI’s Director of Recruitment and loves his new career. “GVI is a volunteer organisation that places over 3,000 people every year in projects around the world, and my role is to manage the teams of Regional Co-ordinators in all our offices worldwide. This was all made possible by the internship Kate and I did in Kenya. For people looking to move abroad, who aren’t sure if their skills are transferable or whether they can get a visa, volunteering is the perfect way to get into a country and test the water.”
Today, home for the couple is a two-bedroom apartment on the slopes of the buzzing City Bowl district, which costs them £600pcm – half the price of their (albeit three bedroom) London flat. Adopting two cats, Rosie and Zane, from the local animal sanctuary they volunteer at has helped them to put down roots.
The couple love Cape Town’s relaxed outdoors vibe, bars and restaurants, shopping, and “great local scene.” “Having the ocean and the mountain at the heart of the city creates a special feeling,” says Jamie. “I love the social atmosphere, but at the same time, it’s relaxed and not as hectic as London. Most of all, I love the space and the fact that I can be out of the city into amazing countryside so quickly – 10 minutes by car, 30 minutes by bike. It feels small for a city of almost 4 million.”
However, he admits, the first 12 months was tough. “It was particularly hard when we had issues and only a meagre friend network to rely on. Having a solid relationship between us has been essential.
“The settling in process was difficult because we didn’t have jobs. For me, particularly, as a male foreigner in South Africa, the search was much harder. At times I really missed my family and being able to phone friends and say, ‘Fancy a pint?’
“Generally, South Africans are very open, warm and easy-going people. People from home put us in touch with their contacts – a bit like blind-dating for friends, and you come away thinking, ‘Well, we like them, but do they like us?’ All rather amusing when you are married in your mid-30s. Cycling has been a great way to meet new people, too.”
Unsurprisingly, the couple find working life is not as “intense” as the City in London. “Cape Town is about work life balance. People like to get in earlier, between 7am and 8am, and finish no later than 5pm, leaving their evenings free. It’s not the same in Johannesburg, where the work ethic is more fast-paced. South Africans themselves move to Cape Town from other parts of the country to pursue this. Having said that, we’ve had to learn that things are slower-paced, and things don’t happen quite so fast. Well, it’s still Africa, after all!
“Cape Town is a car city. Public transport is not as good as London, and most people commute by car. I cycle a few days a week; 30 minutes by bike or 20 minutes by car. Kate walks 30 minutes to work, which raises eyebrows from her colleagues, who find it difficult to detach themselves from their air-conditioned bubbles, but she loves it.”
When asked what he misses most about the UK, Jamie says Twiglets and his family. “Skype helps, but it isn’t the same. We’ve both been home twice in the last year. Flights from Cape Town return are cheaper than London return: on average, it's £600-800, although it’s more at Christmas.
“One trade-off is that some of our holidays have to be spent visiting home. Holidaying in surrounding countries like Namibia is relatively easy, although intra-African flights are more expensive than European travel.”
Jamie reckons renting an apartment in Cape Town is fairly easy – so long as you have a South African bank account and references. “Rent is much cheaper, but home ownership is much lower, too. With interest rates at 10%, it’s prohibitively expensive to buy unless you have
a large amount of capital to put in. You’d probably need 50% of the purchase price. That said, our 90-square-metre, two-bedroom apartment could be bought for about £130,000.
“Eating out and drinking out is cheaper – a pint of beer is about £2, a glass of house wine about £1.70 and a meal in an average restaurant costs £6-11. Supermarkets are a little more expensive for some items. There isn’t 24-hour shopping, and the most annoying thing is no off-licence alcohol sales after 5pm on Saturday or all day Sunday. So if you’re invited round to a friend’s for a Sunday braai, make sure you’ve planned ahead! We fell foul of this, and it was a bit embarrassing.”
As for safety? “South Africa has the reputation worldwide of being a dangerous place. And yes, we have bars on our windows and doors and many people install electrified fences, but, personally, I find if you use a decent level of common sense about when and where you go, you don’t feel restricted.
“I’m proud to call Cape Town home, and I enjoy telling people I meet on my travels that I live there. It always elicits a positive and slightly envious response.”
To find out about volunteering abroad, visit www.gvi.co.uk
South African visas
South African visas fall into one of two categories: temporary residence permits or permanent residence permits. Whilst the latter category, as the name suggests, is devoted to those emigrating to South Africa on a permanent basis, either through business or family-based routes, the temporary residence permit group includes the various types of working permits available for South Africa, along with study visas and visit visas.
Working permits allow foreign nationals to live and work in South Africa for an agreed period, based upon a job offer being in place. They can, with the exception of the Intra-Company Transfer, be extended beyond their initial grant, which is usually one year.
www.globalvisas.com
