How To Live In An “Unsafe” Country

Jeff often writes about how safe it is to live in Europe, and especially his current home, Portugal.

Today, I want to talk to you about the opposite issue: what it’s like to live in a country that has significant safety issues.

South Africa, where I’m based, has a reputation as a volatile and dangerous place…

The 2023 Global Peace Index ranked South Africa at 130 out of 163 countries.

If you’re American, those stats would lead you think South Africa is a far more dangerous place than home. But you’d be wrong. The United States is ranked 131 on the same index, one below South Africa.

That’s the important lesson here. Overall statistics conceal the true situation by painting an entire country with a single brush. Just as millions of Americans go about their daily lives without worrying about their personal safety… so do most South Africans.

Having lived in a major American city with a high crime rate—Atlanta—I’m well aware of the ways Americans process and manage the reality of crime in their broader environment. They pay attention, consider how likely they are to become a victim, and above all, understand and avoid situations in which they are likely to do so.

Most people keep a balanced view, and don’t become paranoid.

That’s exactly what we South Africans do. My home in Cape Town is in a little seaside village on the south side of the city. Violent crime is rare—with the exception of occasional assaults by one homeless person on another. On the other hand, property crime is common, including house and car break-ins. Opportunistic crimes like pickpocketing and purse snatching are common.

By contrast, if I were to drive a mile or so to the east of my home, I’d find an informal settlement riddled with serious violent crimes. I would only go there under specific circumstances, with someone from the area who knows how to navigate it.

Again, that’s how things work back in Atlanta. The little suburb where I lived was one of the safest places in the city. But a couple of miles in any direction, I’d be exposed to the threat of crime.

South Africa and the US are remarkably similar in this regard. The biggest similarity is that most crime occurs within poor communities, amongst people scrambling to survive. By far the majority of violent crime occurs in such neighborhoods. Violent crime occurs elsewhere as well… but it’s far, far lower in better off neighborhoods like mine.

Now, that certainly doesn’t make South Africa’s high crime levels any better. The suffering that crime causes applies equally to rich and poor.

But the key thing is that here—as in many popular expat destinations, like Ecuador or Mexico—it’s all about knowing the ropes and acting accordingly.

And as expats in countries like those will tell you, that’s a skill you develop at home… wherever that may be.