{"id":1370,"date":"2016-07-11T14:11:03","date_gmt":"2016-07-11T13:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grapevinelifestyle.com\/?p=1370"},"modified":"2024-10-08T09:24:42","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T07:24:42","slug":"a-south-african-in-andalusia-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/2016\/07\/11\/a-south-african-in-andalusia-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"A South African in M\u00e1laga, Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“I picked M\u00e1laga as it is in so many aspects similar to the Cape Town and region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we were house-hunting and driving from Alicante to inland M\u00e1laga, our children suddenly said…: “This is like home<\/em>“!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The climate, coast, the landscape, the sense of freedom – it feels like the Western Cape of South Africa<\/strong> (but with much – much much – more olive trees).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Guaro and Tolox in Malaga<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And that’s a good feeling for us South Africans!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We love South Africa, we do not want<\/em> to leave South Africa, but due to the political situation we are forced<\/em> to find another country to integrate into and call home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
“Country roads, take me home…<\/em>“<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It might be slightly easier (by a small margin however) for English speaking South Africans. They came later to South Africa and often still have a grandfather or relative or other link to Britain, often making it easier to apply for British citizenship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Us Afrikaans speakers<\/strong> do not have such strong bonds any longer with the Netherlands or Germany. We see ourselves as children of Africa. South Africa is our home, where the heart is and all the roots. Few of us will be looking to willingly move just for the sake of it or to try something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
“Daar waar my Sarie woon…<\/em>“<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

If it were for my wife and me alone, we would have stayed.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We’ve got the children to think about though, and over the past years the feel of danger (due to senseless torture, killing and rape and violence) has become too much.
Your radar is forever on alert: did I just hear something? Is that a dog barking? WHY <\/strong>is it barking?<\/em>
Can I walk to the gate 100 steps further? (and not have to worry that something happens to the children in the house?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the day South-Africa is such a paradise. Not a day goes by without acknowledging just how lucky and grateful you are to be living in such beauty<\/em>. Then the night falls and it’s all about security and laying awake in bed listening to all the sounds out there – that could be of burglars ready to break down your door while they know the police would not be protecting you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I’d name the top reasons for choosing this part of Spain, I would say:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
  1. The climate is simply identical
    2. Everything feels and looks like home
    3. Safety and security<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    It’s so beautiful and amazing to come home to our finca in M\u00e1laga and the gates are standing wide open.<\/em>
    This is first world Europe but away from the typical too-much-control-about-everything of Northern Europe. Health & Safety and Political Correctness have not yet become a dictatorship, interfering with the quality of peoples’ life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So for us – it’s perfect here.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On top of that, I find the Andalusians to be very easy. They help out with everything, seem to enjoy the contact with foreigners and seem to have hospitality and an open mind in their blood”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Mike<\/strong>
    Monda, Malaga
    (Andalusia, Spain)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Guaro village, Malaga<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    “I picked Malaga as it feels and looks like South Africa. That’s a good feeling for us South Africans! … <\/p>\n

    Continue readingA South African in M\u00e1laga, Spain<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[464,696],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-malaga-lifestyle","category-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1370"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7115,"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1370\/revisions\/7115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grapevine-properties.com\/lifestyle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}