The lockdown and the July unrest have added momentum to South Africa’s ‘semigration’ trend, according to a Fin24 report.
Semigration refers to the movement within South Africa from traditional economic centres such as Gauteng to more congenial living places, typically on the coast. This is often associated with people relocating to the Western Cape in search of better-managed urban environments.
Property experts interviewed said that the lockdown had demonstrated that it was not always necessary to be physically close to work premises – much had now become possible online.
A number of towns that had once been seen as retirement venues had developed amenities that made them attractive to younger people.
While the fallout from the recent unrest has yet to make itself clearly evident, one economist said that ‘in principle’ it would drive semigration (as well as emigration), as people with the means reassessed their options.
[Image: Stephen Cruickshank from Pixabay]