SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? To live in or leave South Africa published by Two Dogs features articles by 16 authors on the subject of whether or not to emigrate. Apparently, it appears that more than a million South Africans have emigrated since the early 1990s.

The subject of staying or leaving gets bandied about on email, facebook and sms. Subjects such as corruption, crime, education, increased rates and an unreliable electricity supply, not to mention the rantings of Julius Malema, are in the forefront of public concern. Appalling driving and potholes also create a major irritation factor – although having spent three days in Kenya recently, I’m never complaining about potholes or taxi drivers again. They’re way ahead!

Edited by Tim Richman, Should I Stay Or Should I Go? sets out to provide some answers to those desperately wanting to leave – for whatever reason – but having no idea of where to go and how to go about it.

The authors include high-profile literary figures such as André Brink (And Yet I Wish to Stay), Jacob Dlamini Checking Out), and Kevin Bloom (I’m South African. I Live Maybe Fifteen Kilometres From Here).

Their pieces feature alongside Liz Butler (I Keep Going Back), Sarah Britten (How Not to Emigrate), Kerry Rogers (My People Have Moved), Ian Macdonald (I Want to Stay, I Need to Stay), Daniel Ford (My Torn Heart) and Ted Botha & Jenni Baxter (The Accidental Expat and the Voice of Reason).

Then there’s Sarah Penny (I am a Transnational), James Carolin (Going Home), Barry Levy (The Souls from Nowhereland), Gillian Tucker (For Better, For Worse, This is where I now Belong), Anne Townsend (Wasn’t I Meant to be Going to Japan?) and Louie Cowan (Anything’s Possible). Each has a story to tell – some humorous, some bitter, many poignant but always informative and well-written. In his Acknowledgements, Richman thanks the authors for “writing candidly and honestly on an often emotional topic”.

Major question: who could tear oneself away from South Africa’s weather? Ok, it gets hectic at times but where would you find sunshine most of the year? To quote the book: “… weather/climate has been proven to play an influential role in personal contentment. Its bearing on individual happiness is often overlooked by those looking to emigrate, and returning South Africans often cite weather as a primary reason for coming home”.

Also, how do you chose the country with the best education system, stronger crime control, a standard of living like the one you’re used to, vehicle/traffic issues …?

There’s a helpful section on the 14 most popular emigrant cities offering the Mercer quality-of-living ranking as well some salient positives and negatives, eg. London (“Anonymity can be depressing”); Dublin (miserable weather); New York (strong dollar and potential for earning); San Francisco (expensive, particularly property); Los Angeles (terrible traffic problems); Atlanta (tornados), Toronto (long winters “spent hibernating indoors”); Perth (”the snakes and sharks can freak you out”); Brisbane (very low crime rate); Sydney (people known to be quite cliquey); Melbourne (decent public transport) … and so it goes on. Quite a telling illustration is the map that shows where these cities are, with nothing in South America, Africa or Europe!

Should I Stay Or Should I Go? To live in or leave South Africa is published in soft cover (210mm x 148mm) by Two Dogs. Recommended Retail Price: R145. EAN/ISBN-13: 978-1-92013-730-4 – Caroline Smart