I’m sure everyone knows that September is Heritage month, but did you know that it is also Tourism month? After South Africa, most of my readership comes from the European Union, United States and the United Kingdom. Whenever I see a new country on my list I always wonder what it would be like to live in one of those countries.

My husband lived in New York for many years and I absolutely loved it when I visited. Apart from the Big Apple, I have always wanted to live in London. I know a few of my followers live there as well as friends and family.

I’m constantly looking for cheap flights to London to make my travel dreams come true. But for now, I’m here in Cape Town and cannot imagine calling another place my home. So often we don’t appreciate what we have and think the grass is greener overseas. Yes, we all know the things we don’t particularly like about SA and would like to change them for the better, but equally enough we don’t celebrate the good things!

For this post, in collaboration with TravelStart, I’m going to share my Top 5 things I would miss if I lived in London.

 

South African Humour

South Africans are pretty chilled people and we have a great sense of humour! Just look at our comedians, from Trevor Noah, Ya-a-seen-him (Yaseen Barnes), The Goliath Brothers, Mark Lottering, Evita Bezuidenhout (Pieter-Dirk Uys) – these are just a few of the funniest South Africans. Can you imagine not growing up with those Leon Schuster movies?

 

South African Culture

South Africa’s rainbow nation comes from its people who have a rich cultural heritage. Not to mention we have 11 official languages and our anthem includes 5 of them. Most South Africans are tolerant of our differences and know that it gives us distinctive characteristics which make our country unique.

 

South African Slang

Here are 43 words/phrases we would all miss including “Ag man”, “Braai” Londoners say BBQ by the way, “Eish” which is one of my all time faves, “Gatvol” like when I get gatvol siekte from work, “haibo” and “laaitie” etc. I don’t know how many “innits” I would be able to handle and I won’t mention those “other” non PG-13 words that we all love to say in a heated moment.

 

South African Landscape

South Africa is an incredibly beautiful country. Drive in any direction and you will find something new. We have a variety of climate variations from the Tropical Kwa-Zulu Natal to the more Mediterranean Cape Town to the abundantly green Gauteng. There are so many things to do and places to see for free (like our blue flag beaches). There is no place like home!

 

South African Food

I saved the best for last, obviously. There is no denying we would all miss the food the most. From Gatsby’s to Bunny Chows, Durban curry, Malay koesisters, Pap and chutney and Milk tart from your local tuisnywerheid. There is a long list of South African delicacies we love to enjoy. The best part of South African food is that every single person in this country enjoys it no matter what culture it comes from. Besides the local favourites, South Africa’s food scene includes some of the world’s top restaurants, but I still appreciate the chip roll from the corner shop and the koesisters made by an Aunty in Bo-Kaap. I haven’t even mentioned All Gold Tomato Sauce, Mrs Balls Chutney, Simba Chips and Nik Naks. I could not imagine living without those!

What would you miss about SA if you lived in London? Let me know in the comments below or on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter!