I know a few of you have asked me why I am still living in South Africa when we know of all the problems the country has. Security and family safety is always a big worry here and I literally guard my grandson wherever we go. The fear he will be snatched is always there and why I take him and fetch him from school. He is an albino and unfortunately is a wanted commodity on the black market so I take no chances and would be a weight of my shoulders once we have moved. We live in a sick world today and you have to look out for each other as no one else is looking out for you.
Next week I am on my travels again visiting my mother who is not well in the UK and this will involve ay more trips during the course of this year and perhaps next year. With sickness you do not know the time frame and my duty as a son is to make sure I see her as much as possible no matter the costs involved. Like I have previously said you cannot place a budget on family.
I have tagged on a reconnaissance mission to the Portuguese Algarve where I will spend 6 days summing up if the region ticks the right boxes for a permanent move. The language barrier I will have to over come and would immediately start Portuguese classes if it is the right move. I am no genius when it comes to languages either so this could be my biggest challenge for a while.
Unfortunately the UK is not a contender any more due to the illegal immigrants and the government stance. I despise what my country of birth has become and hate to see how the place has fallen apart. Trust me I wish things were different as my one business plan would be ideal for the UK and that will have to remain on hold as I hope things may change in the not too distant future.
The Algarve seems exclusive enough that there may not be a migrant problem and the area I have selected is land owned by a wealthy company and not government controlled. Over the years this company has developed and sold off land and still owns a large portion of the land so allowing migrants into the area is not in their best interests if they want to keep the values high.
This is the area of Vilamoura a fishing village/resort/ marina on the Algarve with roughly 20 000 inhabitants. I have already done the home work with regard to schooling and private medical etc, but there is so much else that needs looking into.
This is not a random selection and has taken a good 18 months to find this spot so I have high expectations it can deliver by ticking all the boxes. The obvious question is what am I going to do for a source of income and this will be part of the find out mission.
Next month I am going live with a new business in SA and this is to see if the same business can be replicated here and I am confident it can. My family has some sort of idea what is going on and this is all for them for the future. I do not want my kids and grand kids stuck in a declining country when I have the ability to give them the choices of a better future. A lot needs to happen in a short period of time so the 6 days in the Algarve will unfortunately not be a touristy type trip and will be more work related.
South Africa is a great place to visit on holiday ,but to live it has it's challenges. Always in the back of your mind you have to have a back up plan when this place will all go pear shaped. The threat of being stuck in a country due to the depreciation of the currency is also a major risk and one I have major concerns for the future of my family. Over the next 10 years I expect the Rand to depreciate by another 50%- 75% at least and then you are in big trouble. I know families who cannot move even if they wanted to and travelling over seas is just not in the budget.
I have two businesses here in SA and about to add a third which will be the training ground for the Algarve business. When you are an outsider coming into a new area you see things others don't and why I am keeping an open mind as to what the possibilities could be. The businesses could run on their own with the family based in the Algarve with the occasional fly in visit to make sure things are as they should be. Maybe we sell the businesses and keep a small share holding so that is also a possibility and will cross that when the time comes.
What is obvious is the future is not here and I need to move again which sounds like a big deal, but I have done it twice before. This will not be starting from scratch as I am going with a plan and know what needs to happen to make it succeed. I admit this is not an ideal scenario, but when weighing up the alternatives the safety of my family's future is not something I am prepared to play with.