Living in Cape Town: the City Versus Outlying Suburbs
There are many pros to living in the city, particularly in Cape Town, but there are various pros to living in the outlying suburbs too.
There are many pros to living in the city, particularly in Cape Town, but there are various pros to living in the outlying suburbs too. The city is popular with those preferring to live in close proximity to work and thereby saving them time, but homes here are much more expensive than those in outlying suburbs.
This is according to Michael Bauer, managing director of IHPC estate agency, who says the appeal of living close to one’s place of work, schools, universities and the “buzz” of the city can often be understood - as time becomes more important to young and old, one can understand not wanting to live further than a 15 minutes’ drive from day to day destinations.
“What does play a huge role, though, is the cost of living in a more built-up and busy node,” says Bauer.
Property tends to be more expensive in the more popular built-up areas. If a comparison were to be made of an average home in a suburb within five minutes of the CBD, like Gardens orTamboerskloof for example, a potential buyer could expect to pay anything from R4 million to R28 million with averages of around R3.6 million in Gardens and R5.2 million in Tamboerskloof. This is when looking at selling prices of homes released by Propstats, the IEASA Western Cape data service.
Alternatively, if an average family home in West Beach or Table View were bought, one could expect to pay around R2.3 million or R1.5 million respectively, says Bauer.
He says other costs would have to be compared as well.
The cost of driving to work and back if one lives in the city is very low compared to that if living in the outlying areas. The time spent in the car in the mornings and evenings also has to be taken into account, as this can sometimes be up to an hour each way every day. Another consideration is the high parking cost per day - parking in the CBD can cost approximately R1 000 per month if paid for on a monthly basis.
This two bedroom en suite townhouse for sale in Tamboerskloof has a modern open-plan kitchen and living area that opens out onto a covered terrace with built-in braai and scenic views. The property has an alarm system and single garage with direct access. It is selling for R5.95 million - click here to view.
Alternatively, if a person lives in or close to the city it is easier to use other modes of transport, such as a bus, bicycle or taxi - the availability of public transport is higher when looking at the number of buses or taxis per hour in peak times.
Municipal rates in built-up and denser areas will be higher than the rates charged in the outlying suburbs because of the higher cost of the properties themselves, but the plots of land allocated to each house in outlying areas are usually larger, which is a huge benefit to families with young children.
“As one can see, each option has its pros and cons, and a person looking to buy property must evaluate carefully what their and their family’s needs will be, not just from a living perspective but from the costs of maintaining a certain lifestyle that each person wants,” says Bauer.
“As children get older, so does the need for more sport and social activities, and if they live far from their friends or sports clubs, parents will spend much of their spare time in their cars each week.”
If thought is given to all these priorities beforehand, Bauer says one can settle into enjoying the family home without questioning whether you made the right choice in where to live.”