Pretoria - Post Report Question and Answers
Is it easy to make friends with locals here? Are there any prejudices or any ethnic groups who might feel uncomfortable here?
Not really. There's a large economic divide and many are a bit standoffish. It is very racially segregated. The embassy neighborhoods are largely Afrikans and some of them are very prejudice against anyone who is not white. As an Asian-American I've had more racial issues here (mostly micro aggressions) than in the US. - Apr 2023
Not easy, see above. Yes, there are huge inequalities here and historic prejudices, but I find there to be a warmth and civility here (across racial groups, economic groups) that is sorely lacking in most of the developed world. - Mar 2023
I wouldn't really know about making local friends. The neighborhoods we live in are almost 100% white and segregated. At work, black and white people work side by side, but then we all go home to our segregated neighborhoods and it's pretty difficult to bridge that divide. Racism is alive and well in South Africa. It's been very upsetting to come to understand that the white minority still owns pretty much everything of value in this country. It's really hard to get past it once you realize it. - Jun 2022
This is another hard part of SA. While people are often fairly friendly, for many reasons, people are also extremely skeptical of foreigners/outsiders. Without language as a barrier it should be much easier to make local friends but it is not. Hospitality is not part of the culture here, as far as we can tell. Like many people I came here on vacation prior to my assignment and very much enjoyed fabulous safaris and winery visits; those industries have worked to build basic customer service and hospitality components, but in daily life you do not live in that world. Prejudice runs rampant and people of color experience it daily. - Jan 2020
The locals are friendly and welcoming. Due to the high income disparity, many of the embassy neighborhoods are not very diverse. It is changing, but slowly. I do not see many inter-racial families here, but there is several interracial expats families here. It may or may not be an issue. - Dec 2019
People are friendly and I knew many people socially from my work on the local economy. - Mar 2019
