THINK TWICE BEFORE MOVING TO ST.HELENA BAY

This serves as a polite caution to prospective homebuyers or plot buyers in the community of St. Helena Bay, which is located on the Western Cape's West Coast. Moving to a little coastal village on Cape Town's west coast was a dream come true for me because I had spent the most of my nearly 50 years in cities and suburbs. What more could I ask for on earth than to wake up in the morning and see a tranquil bay? This occurred a few days after arriving in the village of St. Helena Bay. The two months that followed were so disturbing that I am now experiencing insomnia, which has never happened to me before. I'm writing this to raise awareness among those like myself who had great aspirations and ambitions after using money and personal investment to buy their dream property in a dream dorpie.... all is not as it appears. In my perspective, the disadvantages of investing in a home in St. Helena Bay outweigh the benefits. The following are a few examples of calamities in this dorpie that are not explained, written, or even complained about. 1. If you're from outside, the weather on this West coast dorpie can be rather uncomfortable. Regardless of the temperature, humidity levels can reach 95%. The strong South Easter wind is perhaps here the worst in the entire Western Cape, having lived in Cape Town for long periods of my life. 2. When a service, such as water, is disconnected, no notification is given to residents in the area where I live…if you do enquire about no notification, you are instantly frowned upon as an ‘English speaking outsider’ 3. Contrary to popular belief, local municipal clerks are not particularly friendly. It feels more like they are doing you a favour, with the exception of a few that I have consulted with. 4.Everyday services are priced at exorbitantly high charges, for example, changing a plug, which I experienced, can cost you up to R850.00, within normal working hours, a 5-minute service. 5. The local shops are so pricey and offer so few options that you are obliged to travel to the nearest town, Vredenburg, which is literally 30 kilometres away. Be warned that the price of petrol in this town is more than in the megacity, thus transport options are limited. So much for sight-seeing. 6. Forget about finding an affordable contractor, builder or handyman. You never see him again after he has done a very minor task over a lengthy period of time. People typically work at a slow pace with no weekend work or phone calls. 7. The worst experience is probably the one no one has mentioned or even warned you about. I believe I should take responsibility for this one since I didn't do my homework before purchasing a plot and constructing a house. The area is home to some of the most dangerous animals you have ever seen, including lethal spiders the size of an adult hand, numerous dangerous species of scorpions, including the deadly Cape Cobra. My cat has already visited the emergency room once. It's a jungle here! City dwellers, beware! 8 When wanting to join a community FACEBOOK group, be warned it can take up to a week to join. 9.When visiting St. Helena Bay, bring an empty bottle with you. Unless you go to a restaurant, there are no public restrooms available or even suitable for human use... Even at the local business, you will be told that you must be a patreon. Visiting with a few elderly people was the worst experience I've ever had; I was actually turned away at every shop until I made a scene and was eventually helped. 10. It appears as if lawlessness thrives. So much for tranquillity... Every weekend appears to be a sleepless one. On Friday and Saturday nights, you can hear music at a high volume just about everywhere. House parties from inconsiderate neighbours, in addition to ‘events ‘of car racing are the norm, until the break of dawn.... only to be woken up at eight o'clock on Sunday morning by church bells ringing every half hour from 8 to 9 a.m. And no police are seen anywhere and no calls are responded to, in attending to the situations.