Expat : First thing to do on first week upon arrive Johannesburg

Hi Helen,

Start by having a look at the Expat Arrivals Johannesburg City Guide. It gives you a good overview of expat life in the city.

What you do in your first week will depend on how much you have sorted out before you leave. If you've already found an appartment, you will still probably spend the first week setting up your phone line, internet connection, etc.

You'll probably also want to spend some time, exploring the city and finding out where the malls, hospitals, schools (if you have kids), are. You may also want to spend some time meeting other expats or contacts you already have in the city.

Hope this helps.

Shantalie

Happy to help. 

MWeb has some good unlimited wifi packages. Until you get wifi set up in your home, you might want to get a mobile internet dongle to keep you going. Cell C and 8ta do some good deals.

Have a look at our Expat Check List: Tips for planning your relocation. The article provides some good information on various considerations expats should think about before making a move overseas.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

Shantalie

Hi helenamalaysia, you'll also want to look at getting a car as soon as you move to Johannesburg. Public transport in Johannesburg is not the most reliable and for the inexperienced can be a rather scary experience at first. Having your own car in Johannesburg will be the best option and will make your life so much easier. For information on the process of purchasing a vehicle, see Buying a Car in South Africa.

Hi Shantalie, Yup, setting internet and phone line is important. Will google the internet provider later. Thank you so much for your respond and helps.

May I know the expenses in johannesburg. Such as for basic 3 meals? Is WiFi readily available in the country? How much will ADSL connection cost per month?

Hi anonymous, wifi is readily available in the country, including in most major coffee shops and restaurants. You'll also be able to arrange ADSL for your home through providers such as Telkom and Mweb. We have a package through Telkom which includes our landline telephone and internet (5GB per month), including free local calling minutes in the evenings and on weekends, for about R300. But there are much better deals than this that offer unlimited data so it's best to shop around with the local providers. 

Have a look at our Cost of Living in South Africa page for a breakdown of the expenses you can expat living in Johannesburg, inlcuding internet costs.

When arriving in Johannesburg your first priority should be a car, public transport is almost non excising and if you do find the odd taxi or mini bus taxi it can be quite dangerous. Secondly take care which suburb you choose to live in as most suburbs around Johannesburg has a lot of crime and try and find accommodation in a secure complex with security. Apart from that, South Africa is a great country with a lot to see, lots of game parks just a short drive outside Johannesburg. Enjoy your time in SA.

Thanks anonymous. I would also like to know which local bank should I open account with? And what is the minimum amount need to be deposit to open one account? Thank you.

Hi Anonymous,

I opened an account with Standard Bank, but this was only because it was the most convinient as my boyfriend already had his account with them and they helped us with the paperwork for Home Affairs. I found that opening a bank account was not straight forward...basically you need a lot of documents from your employer, copies of your work permit, etc. I was back and forth the whole time and found the process stressful.

I was quite surprised at how the whole banking system works in South Africa. Banks charge you for everything - so you either pay a fixed monthly fee to have your account or have to pay for each and every transaction. Coming from the UK, I was used to having banks fight to get customers and giving you various incentives to join them.

For a more detailed overview of South Africa's banking system check out the Banking, Money and Taxes page.

Hope this helps.

Shantalie

Dear Helen, welcome to Gauteng. Well the first thing to do is find more permanent accommodation than a hotel, which involves finding the right location. Our company makes use of relocation agents, Elliot Mobility to help with the orientation of our Expats. Evaluate your needs first: 1. Traffic and Distance to and from the office - does your company require you to work fixed times or flexitime 2. Shopping - do you shop over weekends or do you stop by the shop on your way home 3. Security - do research on areas you shortlist before you make any further discussions 4. Schools - do you have or plan to have children who needs to go to school close by 5. Budget - housing in certain areas are more expensive than in other areas Based on the above basic questionnaire you can contact rental agents to help you find the perfect housing solution. Note that most rental companies have an agent per area, thus you normally deal with more than one agent in the beginning. When we deal with Elliot Mobility they take care of all the above (help allocate the perfect area for you (and your family), contacting different agents & schedule viewings, suggest schools, etc etc) AND help you with a familiarisation tour. Hope this brief explanation helps to kick start your journey to settling in Jo'burg (short for Johannesburg) :-) 2.

Yes, finding a relocation agent is not a bad idea to start out with. I would definitely say, from my experience three years ago, that buying a car and getting a mobile phone were the two most important things to me. If you can't decide on a mobile phone plan, just get a cheap prepaid one for the first month until you have more information and have the bank account set up, and then you can get a cheaper 2-year contract.

And yes, the bank account of course is also important. I don't think there is that much difference between banks, so I would pick whichever has a convenient location of their ATM for you, i.e. close by to where you live, and where it is safe to withdraw money. We also used Standard Bank. I have heard that INvestec might have better service than the others, but they don't have actual branches, so it's a bit different.

For our internet, we went with Afrihost and had a good experience. Don't do the Telkom contract other than for the line itself. Telkom has a monthly cap, and you don't want that. You want uncapped internet.

Also, another thing to do upon arrival is to check your water and electric meters, if you are renting a house, to make sure you know what the reading is before you move in. That way you'll know if the charges are correct. I have had many battles with Eskom over our electricity account, and the more information you have, the better. It's actually best to call in your own monthly readings yourself, that way you know they're accurate, and they do allow for that.

You''ll probably also have to buy some appliances and such. Stores like HiFi, Hirsch's, Dion Wired, or Stax are good options. 

Woolworth is the nicest grocery store chain in SA, and they have many convenient locations. Spar, especially Superspar, probably has the widest international selection. Checkers and PicknPay are the cheaper stores if you're looking for a budget option.

The one thing you do NOT need to do, and man expats don't know this at first, is get a South African driver's license. YOu actually can't get one. Just use your foreign one as long as it's valid. What you DO need if you buy a car is a so-called Traffic Regsiter Number. Many South Africans don't know this because they don't need one, but foreigners do. The article on buying a car will give you more specifics.

Good luck!

I am also coming Johannesburg and your blogs helped me a lot. I am worried that when I will arrive at airport how do I know where to go and where and how can I arrange any accommodation.