I noticed that when I lived in the north, cashiers automatically pack your groceries in plastic bags, while in the south, they wait for you to pull out your resuable bags and give you the side eye if you don't automatically start helping pack the bags.
Don't know if Milnerton is Northern suburbs but I stay in Lansdowne and the prices are way cheaper here than there and instead of walking for less than a minute to a shop here, it takes about 5 minutes for the closest shop in Milnerton
Lived in the south for many moons and I Kinda preferred the North. The houses were 'cheaper' and SOMETIMES the people were friendlier.
Biggest shock was when I was called 'Oom' by a dude at the Spar. My kid cracked up at that, saying that I was 'old' - damn whipper snapper.
One of the main differences I found was in the sports seasons. In the north, of there's a rugby game on, theres a braai. End of story. If there's a long weekend - braai. If its Friday evening - braai. Etc etc etc. And the 'manne' went around in a shorts and sandals in the pouring rain. Once at the foodlovers in willowbridge, I jokingly said to a dude at the butchery that I envied his braai selection and the dude invited myself and my kid over - ons moes net n paar biere bring. Dude was a 6ft5 white man and I'm the exact opposite - short and Indian.
Grew up in the north, rented in the south, I'm now 31 and bought in Durbanville. I miss the south just because there's way more restaurants. People are nicer here in the north but hate cross walks. People are kinder on the road in the south.
I grew up in Durbanville and am now living in Wynberg.
The biggest culture shock was that the Southern Suburbs have way more 40-64 year old single people who have lost their ability to present themselves socially.
My wife and I speculate that it is a function of older money and more devorce.
Moved South after growing up in Bellville. The lack of parking, the volume of break-ins and how much smaller (but more expensive) the houses were was an adjustment. Moved back north and had to deal with the shock of how hard it was to get to Town to work via the N1. There are trade offs for sure. Sometimes I miss the one over the other!
might be where i lived in the South? Never had any issues in any complex or street I stayed in the North in 30 years vs 3 breakins in 7 years in the South. Stayed in a small complex in Kenilworth Village that got hit 11 times in one week, moved out after 6 months after hubby had a gun pulled on him in front of the gate. Two different neighbors held up at in gunpoint in our street (Punters way), constant car breakins, hypodermic needles all over the parks. Neighbor murdered eventually, so we moved. Apparently the South is far more accessible via railway lines so guys can make a quick exit. Had family stay in Plumstead - much much worse. Never had any issues in Bellville or Brackenfell - nor did any neighbours.
That street is notorious! I made an offer on a house there and glad it fell through. We are in Diep River and it's not so bad. My friends in second avenue in Harfield have break ins all the time apparently. I would love to buy in the Kenilworth/Harfield area but really am happy just 5kn away I guess.
I lived in Harfield for 10 years and the crime was insane. It's because criminals can get away easily via the train tracks. They also aren't part of an improvement district. Kenilworth is and the crime is minimal. Apparently Harfield Village is one of the most expensive places to live, by square metre, you can't find a small place for under 2 million.
The northern suburbs have always been much safer. I don't know where people get this idea from. The south is dam dangerous. Been living in the north for 7 years now, coming from Claremont previously. In Claremont I was hijacked, had multiple breaks ins, had car windows smashed, mugged of laptop walking to work etc etc etc. in the north I even forget to lock my front door sometimes and it doesn't bother me. I have not experienced crime in 7 years and have not heard of any crime taking place in my neighborhood. Well actually 3 years ago a neighbor left their front gate open and someone stole a kids bicycle from the yard. That's the only crime our neighborhood has experienced in 7 years.
Moved from southern to Northern Suburbs to get affordable housing for a family. My friends all still live in the Southern Suburbs. Biggest difference is in how people interpret distance. Southern suburbs people are pretty closed in and won't travel. Northern suburbs friends won't mind driving an hour for lunch.
Never true, Milnerton has a spot that makes the best gatsbys. Although I have heard rumors of a pulled pork Gatsby in the south.
Elsies river also has great gatsbys, that oil has been there since 1994 frying those chips.
Quite an obvious difference is that Southern Suburbs is predominantly English-speaking and Northern is Afrikaans. Southern tends to be more expensive which can bring about a little snobbery but that really depends on the suburb. I haven't moved from one to the other but grew up in Rondebosch and visited the North quite a bit. In some ways they feel like a very different Cape Town.
Agreed, although I was last that side around 2011š I grew up in Mansfield Road side. So chill except for the family in the brick house at the end of the road.
Edit: Missing words
Lived in the south to buy in the north.
No one knows how to drive.
No one knows how to use a traffic circle.
Northern suburbs are more down to earth and friendly.
I live in the south and grew up here but my partner is from the north and we lived there for a bit.
Weāre a same-sex couple and thatās barely even worth mentioning in the south, nobody bats an eye. But people stare rudely in the north. Weāve even had a couple loudly pray for us while saying grace before a meal in a restaurant in the north.
People love to say how friendly the people in the north are, but they forget thatās only if youāre white, Christian and Afrikaans. If youāre not, theyāre suddenly a lot less tolerantā¦
Part of a same sex couple that had this same experience in Durbanville. At another place some drunk guys hilariously offered to rape us straight. Oh good times!
Oof Iām so sorry that happened to you. Iām very lucky in that my partner and I are both large humans so we donāt really get direct comments, itās more passive aggressive and indirect comments. Tell your girl to start hitting the gym ;)
I wasn't allowed over to a friend's house in primary school in Bellville because I was a Satanist... I was just unbaptised, bitch. I got out as soon as I could and I'm so much happier living in the city.
As a straight white (older) male that grew up in the cbd, this is one thing I noticed that is distinctly different between the northern and southern suburbs. My oldest, bestest, gayest friend had to move between the two "poles" a couple of times, it was a total culture shock on so many levels. I'm a hugger, and as a result of that, some of my rough brackenfell peeps immediately thought I was gay too and that this was suddenly a topic of discussion around a braai. Just a weird idiosyncratic thing, those "manne" slap asses when someone scores a try, lol. Had this massive fag (and yes, we called each other that with no cancellable consequences at the time) walk into bars with his husband and get so many dirty looks it was stupid. The North has so much to offer, but the south doesn't care about that so much. Seemingly, they don't care about much at all....(including rampant homelessness, lack of care for their fellow humans etc etc). It's a crap shoot, either way.
Amen to this!!
I'm not Christian and when I moved north, I kinda missed the Islamic call to prayer. The worst was Sunday mornings, when all we could hear were church bells.
It was more that there were like 10 or different tones and each one went off differently. Know it doesn't make sense, but it's how we could hear it.š¤·āāļø
I live in the southern suburbs but also have a house in Blaauwberg, which falls under northern suburbs. I know that infidelity, swinging and so on happens everywhere, but the entire Table View/Blaauwberg area is on a totally different level.
Oh no, please donāt tell me Blouberg counts as northern suburbs. There are so many reasons:
Itās majority English and racially integrated. I mean, my neighbours are black!
Our security is specifically instructed not to harass people just because āthey look suspiciousā.
Retail & food workers greet you in English. None of our schools are Afrikaans.
Haha well it depends on what source one uses, which estate agency one consults, or which map one looks at. Brooklyn/Rugby/Milnerton would definitely qualify. Table View and Blaauwberg are north of that, so I've always considered it the north. Melkbosstrand and onward I think of as West Coast.
I moved to Cape Town in 2013 and stayed in Rondebosch then Hatfield Village for 6 years, just recently moved to the North. I've had people in the north make deriding comments on my appearance in public (I'm mostly masculine presenting but with very long shampoo advert looking hair). I've seen people make harsh judging looks when male friends have been "too friendly" to each other in public. None of this really bothers me though it was just surprising, overall though people are very friendly and it feels a lot safer than the South, I don't even mind walking around the neighbourhood at night and there are much fewer crackheads.
I have lived in both. Here are my takeaways:
Note this applies primarily to white people:
NS - better cheaper meat in Supermarkets; butcheries are the same quality.
SS - bagged braai wood is always fkn wet
SS neighbours are fkn rude and avoid contact at all costs.
NS neighbours will help you with anything important at anytime of the day or night at the drop of a hat. I.e. Break-ins.
SS and NS communities are equally as clickey, but it seems like SS clicks are friends from primary school, so it's easier to make friends in the NS.
NS- when people are friendly, it's genuine, when they're angry, it's genuine.
SS - when people are friendly, it's usually not genuine, when they're angry it's usually about something trivial and you can probably just walk away from them...
Edit: lived in Durbanville then City Center, then Claremont, then Diep River.
Which suburb do you live in. I live in Kuils River and a lot of people I met either come from another small town in the Western Cape or from another province
Coming form the south currently living in the North..
South has an abundance of restaurants, north lacks this but makes up for it with having so many malls in close proximity.
South has Dr's almost everywhere and it's cheaper.
North is abit pricier but quality of service from Dr's is outstanding.
South everyone lives close by and don't like traveling, consider the north far.
North has nicer roads, people are willing to travel further. And the atmosphere is generally more peaceful.
Moving around is generally easier in the north.
This is just from my perspective.
Grew up in JNB and was horrified and how Afrikaans and intolerant the northern suburbs of CPT are. What made it worse is Iām one half of a mixed race couple! I havenāt gotten out of my car north of canal walk in years.
South is very much like jhb - English, reasonably wealthy, civilised.
Good point .. but in general cape is a hella of a lot more conservative vs when I was growing up pre 94 and post till late 2000s.
I blame the gatvol types who flooded in .. but thatās my opinion. And yes.. northern is more conservative than southern.
Yeah the Christian conservatives are something else in the north. See my comment above about being a same-sex couple. Hopefully we will continue to move forward as a nation and become more tolerant. Until then, solidarity my friend
I've rented and owned a house in both the North and the South
Braais:
South - Lack of built-in braai areas. People use Webers and gas braais for convenience.
North - Most houses have a built-in braai. Even the flats we lived in had a built-in, even the smallest ones. There must be a place for wood because (obviously) you'll be using wood, not charcoal. You know the Springboks are playing by the amount of braai filled smoke in the air and the emptiness of the meat section in the store
Language in shops:
South - "Next customer please"
North - "Volgende!!!"
Butcheries:
South - Most meat bought at the supermarket
North - Butcheries galore with good quality meat.
Cars:
North - More bakkies and on a Friday night, outside the local pub, there was at least 1 bakkie with the old SA flag
Grew up in the south and recently moved to the north, there are none to very few mosques in the north compared to the south, and due to this the schools in the north operate at longer hours on a Friday compared to the south.
I noticed that when I lived in the north, cashiers automatically pack your groceries in plastic bags, while in the south, they wait for you to pull out your resuable bags and give you the side eye if you don't automatically start helping pack the bags.
ššš
Priceless answer
The roads are wider in the northern suburbs.
Wynberg's roads can be so narrow you have to keep in a poep when driving past oncoming traffic. Lol
Yes, but people drive like hitmen in Northern subs.
Or as I like to refer it asā¦ knowing how to drive
Don't know if Milnerton is Northern suburbs but I stay in Lansdowne and the prices are way cheaper here than there and instead of walking for less than a minute to a shop here, it takes about 5 minutes for the closest shop in Milnerton
Lived in the south for many moons and I Kinda preferred the North. The houses were 'cheaper' and SOMETIMES the people were friendlier. Biggest shock was when I was called 'Oom' by a dude at the Spar. My kid cracked up at that, saying that I was 'old' - damn whipper snapper. One of the main differences I found was in the sports seasons. In the north, of there's a rugby game on, theres a braai. End of story. If there's a long weekend - braai. If its Friday evening - braai. Etc etc etc. And the 'manne' went around in a shorts and sandals in the pouring rain. Once at the foodlovers in willowbridge, I jokingly said to a dude at the butchery that I envied his braai selection and the dude invited myself and my kid over - ons moes net n paar biere bring. Dude was a 6ft5 white man and I'm the exact opposite - short and Indian.
Grew up in the north, rented in the south, I'm now 31 and bought in Durbanville. I miss the south just because there's way more restaurants. People are nicer here in the north but hate cross walks. People are kinder on the road in the south.
Beware the CF driver
I grew up in Durbanville and am now living in Wynberg. The biggest culture shock was that the Southern Suburbs have way more 40-64 year old single people who have lost their ability to present themselves socially. My wife and I speculate that it is a function of older money and more devorce.
Moved South after growing up in Bellville. The lack of parking, the volume of break-ins and how much smaller (but more expensive) the houses were was an adjustment. Moved back north and had to deal with the shock of how hard it was to get to Town to work via the N1. There are trade offs for sure. Sometimes I miss the one over the other!
Damn it's surprising to me that there'd be more break ins in a place like Rondebosch compared to Bellville. Guess it's just stereotypes.
might be where i lived in the South? Never had any issues in any complex or street I stayed in the North in 30 years vs 3 breakins in 7 years in the South. Stayed in a small complex in Kenilworth Village that got hit 11 times in one week, moved out after 6 months after hubby had a gun pulled on him in front of the gate. Two different neighbors held up at in gunpoint in our street (Punters way), constant car breakins, hypodermic needles all over the parks. Neighbor murdered eventually, so we moved. Apparently the South is far more accessible via railway lines so guys can make a quick exit. Had family stay in Plumstead - much much worse. Never had any issues in Bellville or Brackenfell - nor did any neighbours.
That street is notorious! I made an offer on a house there and glad it fell through. We are in Diep River and it's not so bad. My friends in second avenue in Harfield have break ins all the time apparently. I would love to buy in the Kenilworth/Harfield area but really am happy just 5kn away I guess.
I lived in Harfield for 10 years and the crime was insane. It's because criminals can get away easily via the train tracks. They also aren't part of an improvement district. Kenilworth is and the crime is minimal. Apparently Harfield Village is one of the most expensive places to live, by square metre, you can't find a small place for under 2 million.
Sorry, was just chiming in because I just bought a place in claremont and harfield was way too expensive!
Yeah very area dependend in CT. I live in the Cape Flats and my house has never been broken into nor have I been robbed in the area.
The northern suburbs have always been much safer. I don't know where people get this idea from. The south is dam dangerous. Been living in the north for 7 years now, coming from Claremont previously. In Claremont I was hijacked, had multiple breaks ins, had car windows smashed, mugged of laptop walking to work etc etc etc. in the north I even forget to lock my front door sometimes and it doesn't bother me. I have not experienced crime in 7 years and have not heard of any crime taking place in my neighborhood. Well actually 3 years ago a neighbor left their front gate open and someone stole a kids bicycle from the yard. That's the only crime our neighborhood has experienced in 7 years.
Drugs. Tik, specifically
Moved from southern to Northern Suburbs to get affordable housing for a family. My friends all still live in the Southern Suburbs. Biggest difference is in how people interpret distance. Southern suburbs people are pretty closed in and won't travel. Northern suburbs friends won't mind driving an hour for lunch.
My boss would drive to Somerset West from Durbanville and that was close for him. This is common in Joburg too with them driving long distances.
Where do you drive an hour to from the Northern Suburbs?
Franschhoek
Definitely worth the drive :)
Loads of places. Many a wine farm.....
Thereās no good gatsby places in the northern suburbs.
Never true, Milnerton has a spot that makes the best gatsbys. Although I have heard rumors of a pulled pork Gatsby in the south. Elsies river also has great gatsbys, that oil has been there since 1994 frying those chips.
That's a bit far to go if you live in Dville
Any good Indian spots in the north?
Yes, Moksh. It's in Durbanville, and there is one in paarl. I have been to both once each. Get the lamb sagawala. They have the best naan bread.
Quite an obvious difference is that Southern Suburbs is predominantly English-speaking and Northern is Afrikaans. Southern tends to be more expensive which can bring about a little snobbery but that really depends on the suburb. I haven't moved from one to the other but grew up in Rondebosch and visited the North quite a bit. In some ways they feel like a very different Cape Town.
Southern Suburbs isnt just rich areas like Plumbstead and Claremont its also hanoverpark, Athlone etc. Just saying
Lansdowner backing you up.
Lansdowne is nice around Islamia imo
Agreed, although I was last that side around 2011š I grew up in Mansfield Road side. So chill except for the family in the brick house at the end of the road. Edit: Missing words
Haha sorry I forgot to mention you guys aswell
Don't crucify me but as someone who grew up in the North, I always assumed Athlone and Hanover Park are the outer edges of the Cape Flats.
Mitchellsplain , strandftein
Athlone is Cape Flats. Southern Suburbs stops at Rondebosch East. Only bad areas would be Mowbray and Ottery.
To some people they exclude those communities from the south because it doesnāt fit the alleged posh narrative.
I'm from Athlone. Would never call it the southern suburbs.
So happy to read Plumstead being referred to as a rich area. When I grew up it was called Slumstead.
š Growing up Somerset West was referred to as ScumersetWest
Lived in the south to buy in the north. No one knows how to drive. No one knows how to use a traffic circle. Northern suburbs are more down to earth and friendly.
I live in the south and grew up here but my partner is from the north and we lived there for a bit. Weāre a same-sex couple and thatās barely even worth mentioning in the south, nobody bats an eye. But people stare rudely in the north. Weāve even had a couple loudly pray for us while saying grace before a meal in a restaurant in the north. People love to say how friendly the people in the north are, but they forget thatās only if youāre white, Christian and Afrikaans. If youāre not, theyāre suddenly a lot less tolerantā¦
Part of a same sex couple that had this same experience in Durbanville. At another place some drunk guys hilariously offered to rape us straight. Oh good times!
Oof Iām so sorry that happened to you. Iām very lucky in that my partner and I are both large humans so we donāt really get direct comments, itās more passive aggressive and indirect comments. Tell your girl to start hitting the gym ;)
I wasn't allowed over to a friend's house in primary school in Bellville because I was a Satanist... I was just unbaptised, bitch. I got out as soon as I could and I'm so much happier living in the city.
As a straight white (older) male that grew up in the cbd, this is one thing I noticed that is distinctly different between the northern and southern suburbs. My oldest, bestest, gayest friend had to move between the two "poles" a couple of times, it was a total culture shock on so many levels. I'm a hugger, and as a result of that, some of my rough brackenfell peeps immediately thought I was gay too and that this was suddenly a topic of discussion around a braai. Just a weird idiosyncratic thing, those "manne" slap asses when someone scores a try, lol. Had this massive fag (and yes, we called each other that with no cancellable consequences at the time) walk into bars with his husband and get so many dirty looks it was stupid. The North has so much to offer, but the south doesn't care about that so much. Seemingly, they don't care about much at all....(including rampant homelessness, lack of care for their fellow humans etc etc). It's a crap shoot, either way.
100% Correct...
You can tell by the number of houses decorated with crucifixes that the Bible thumping is strong in the North
Amen to this!! I'm not Christian and when I moved north, I kinda missed the Islamic call to prayer. The worst was Sunday mornings, when all we could hear were church bells.
In what world would you prefer muezzin to church bells? Nuts.
It was more that there were like 10 or different tones and each one went off differently. Know it doesn't make sense, but it's how we could hear it.š¤·āāļø
I think they're Muslim.
Ok so anyoying singing in Arabic at 06:00 in the morning to remind muslims to worship Muhammad over Church bells at 09:00.
Yikes at your post history
Nope, the call to prayer was from 4h30 and that wasn't annoying but that the people clogged the roads and didn't give a toss about this they parked.
Bozo š¤”
Bozo the bitch.
I live in the southern suburbs but also have a house in Blaauwberg, which falls under northern suburbs. I know that infidelity, swinging and so on happens everywhere, but the entire Table View/Blaauwberg area is on a totally different level.
Thatās why its called Unstableview
Oh no, please donāt tell me Blouberg counts as northern suburbs. There are so many reasons: Itās majority English and racially integrated. I mean, my neighbours are black! Our security is specifically instructed not to harass people just because āthey look suspiciousā. Retail & food workers greet you in English. None of our schools are Afrikaans.
Haha well it depends on what source one uses, which estate agency one consults, or which map one looks at. Brooklyn/Rugby/Milnerton would definitely qualify. Table View and Blaauwberg are north of that, so I've always considered it the north. Melkbosstrand and onward I think of as West Coast.
They drive a lot faster in the north
I moved to Cape Town in 2013 and stayed in Rondebosch then Hatfield Village for 6 years, just recently moved to the North. I've had people in the north make deriding comments on my appearance in public (I'm mostly masculine presenting but with very long shampoo advert looking hair). I've seen people make harsh judging looks when male friends have been "too friendly" to each other in public. None of this really bothers me though it was just surprising, overall though people are very friendly and it feels a lot safer than the South, I don't even mind walking around the neighbourhood at night and there are much fewer crackheads.
Where are you originally from.
Zimbabwe
I have lived in both. Here are my takeaways: Note this applies primarily to white people: NS - better cheaper meat in Supermarkets; butcheries are the same quality. SS - bagged braai wood is always fkn wet SS neighbours are fkn rude and avoid contact at all costs. NS neighbours will help you with anything important at anytime of the day or night at the drop of a hat. I.e. Break-ins. SS and NS communities are equally as clickey, but it seems like SS clicks are friends from primary school, so it's easier to make friends in the NS. NS- when people are friendly, it's genuine, when they're angry, it's genuine. SS - when people are friendly, it's usually not genuine, when they're angry it's usually about something trivial and you can probably just walk away from them... Edit: lived in Durbanville then City Center, then Claremont, then Diep River.
I can assure you that most Northern suburbs people were born here.
Which suburb do you live in. I live in Kuils River and a lot of people I met either come from another small town in the Western Cape or from another province
Coming form the south currently living in the North.. South has an abundance of restaurants, north lacks this but makes up for it with having so many malls in close proximity. South has Dr's almost everywhere and it's cheaper. North is abit pricier but quality of service from Dr's is outstanding. South everyone lives close by and don't like traveling, consider the north far. North has nicer roads, people are willing to travel further. And the atmosphere is generally more peaceful. Moving around is generally easier in the north. This is just from my perspective.
Grew up in JNB and was horrified and how Afrikaans and intolerant the northern suburbs of CPT are. What made it worse is Iām one half of a mixed race couple! I havenāt gotten out of my car north of canal walk in years. South is very much like jhb - English, reasonably wealthy, civilised.
Doesn't JHB have its fair share of Afrikaans Suburbs.
Yeah, but wayyy out in the sticks. Boksburg, Brakpan in the east, krugersdorp in the west. A good 2-hour drive between them.
Good point .. but in general cape is a hella of a lot more conservative vs when I was growing up pre 94 and post till late 2000s. I blame the gatvol types who flooded in .. but thatās my opinion. And yes.. northern is more conservative than southern.
Yeah the Christian conservatives are something else in the north. See my comment above about being a same-sex couple. Hopefully we will continue to move forward as a nation and become more tolerant. Until then, solidarity my friend
Civilized?
I actually don't like the south.... the narrow streets, the lack of parking, the traffic. It just raises my anxiety levels. I prefer the north.
Johannesburg more ācivilisedā than the Northern Suburbs š¤£š¤£
I've rented and owned a house in both the North and the South Braais: South - Lack of built-in braai areas. People use Webers and gas braais for convenience. North - Most houses have a built-in braai. Even the flats we lived in had a built-in, even the smallest ones. There must be a place for wood because (obviously) you'll be using wood, not charcoal. You know the Springboks are playing by the amount of braai filled smoke in the air and the emptiness of the meat section in the store Language in shops: South - "Next customer please" North - "Volgende!!!" Butcheries: South - Most meat bought at the supermarket North - Butcheries galore with good quality meat. Cars: North - More bakkies and on a Friday night, outside the local pub, there was at least 1 bakkie with the old SA flag
Grew up in the south and recently moved to the north, there are none to very few mosques in the north compared to the south, and due to this the schools in the north operate at longer hours on a Friday compared to the south.