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[abd]

Hello,
I am curious whether anyone has information about South Africa, what the income taxes are like, and any comments generally that an American would benefit from knowing when considering a position.  
Any and all input is much appreciated
Thanks

[helpful]

Are you looking at UCT or Western Cape? Very different schools. UCT is more 'elite'; Western Cape more working class. But both have very good programs in different areas. Western Cape is out in the burbs but accessible by train. UCT is in a swish area in the area just down from the mountain (area is called 'Obs') also accessible by train.

People in Jo-burg told me Capetown 'wasn't S. Africa'. They said it was as if someone went to America and lived in frisco and said they were living in America...Jo-[burg is more heavy duty, big city. Capetown a bit more laid back.

Obviously more complicated than that, but you get the drift. Plus Capetown is on the ocean, which adds to its atmosphere.

What field are you in?

[yankee]

I know people at Western Cape, which is a "historically black university" (read:  historically shafted when funds are handed out).  The funding situation in some fields will be a little better now because the gov't is trying to make up for past screwing.  So it's not a well equipped campus but it is a pretty one, lots of low buildings with courtyards and big windows and pinkish tile roofs -- hot weather architecture.  Graduates (postgrad) I have known were very good students although the methodology they learned there would be considered behind the times in the US.  Faculty try to get research done and sometimes succeed but the teaching load is pretty brutal.  The surrounding countryside is gorgeous.

I wouldn't dream of moving to RSA simply because the crime rate is absolutely beyond belief.  Cape Town is not as bad as Pretoria, where not just homes but empty fields are often surrounded with razor wire, but it is bad enough.  UWC, like many things of value in RSA, is surrounded by a high fence and you must go through a guarded gate to get in.  Cape Town combines modernity, gleaming shopping malls, beautiful homes, etc., with grinding poverty.  There are horrifying shantytowns on the highway very near the city, and when you park near one of those malls you will need to pay some ragged-looking self-appointed car-watcher to keep an eye on it for you.  Racial tension remains very severe, as the black population rightly feels that it is still not getting a fair shake economically, while the white population often feels threatened.  This may complicate dealings with the government as well as private individuals.  Somewhere in Gauteng (I think) last year, a couple were charged with murder for stabbing a man they found in their bed, raping the wife, in the middle of the night.  I don't know the races of the people involved but would not be at all surprised to hear that they were charged to score a racial point.  All I can say is be very sure you know what you're getting into.

[%sig%]

[helpful]

Actually, Western Cape is a historically so-called "coloured" university. That is the term from apartheid.  But it is now a mixture. I concur with yankee about the other points.

There is some interesting teaching and research being done at both UWC and UCT.

[abd]

I'm interested in University of Cape Town, and I happen to love san francisco, so maybe that's a good thing.  I remember reading an article in Science not too long ago (late 2003 maybe?) about UCT's efforts to diversify their graduate student population in the natural sciences, where I would be working.  So this is positive.

meanwhile, Yankee's stories of crime are quite sobering.  I suppose the odds are quite slim of being flown over to visit, even in the wildly unlikely case that I was offered a position.  

I appreciate the feedback and any more opinions similarly appreciated

[helpful]

I know someone in a different discipline at UCT. I will be seeing her later this year. If you want I can ask her about anything about the university or the city.

UCT is in Obs (short for Observatory) and it is a funky area of town.

If you like frisco you'd like Capetown, but the crime rate, like many port cities, is high.

[kate]

hello i ma doing an essay in the sociology of cape town and anyone who has any input would be a massive help nad so appreciated.