Left a good job in the city

One thing about South Africa is that the rules are looser than in the UK. This applies to almost every facet of life, but means that I have noticed the self imposed rules that I as an Englishman born, bred & conditioned, had imposed on myself. For one thing, SA is far more entrepreneurial – there is no clear-cut career path: you graduate, you get a starter job, you get promoted, and so on. Part of the reason is that the talent pool is a lot shallower than it is in London, so smart and ambitious people can get farther more quickly than they would in a place where there is always someone as smart as them with experience as well. The perceived way of doing things is nothing like as strong here, probably because the conventional way of doing things often doesn’t work. The result of this is that you learn to be resourceful to get anything done, be it getting a phone put in, or getting into someone’s diary.

Whatever. It’s refreshing, and the edge it gives you is probably one reason that South Africans often do well when they do move to London, which they do in large numbers.

Listening to: Kings of Leon: Youth & Young Manhood