00:06From above, Cape Town looks like it has it all, but the story hasn't always been that
00:10simple.
00:11For years, South Africans left in search of better opportunities abroad.
00:16But government figures suggest that's changing.
00:19Nearly 15,000 returned home in 2022.
00:22I decided to find out what is driving this shift and why so many South Africans are returning
00:28home after years abroad.
00:31I met up with Kimberly Richmond, who after years of living abroad, decided to return home.
00:36I always wanted to come home.
00:39I really, really, unfortunately, media always focuses on the bad, like on a continual basis.
00:44So you think you're going to walk down the streets and get hijacked all the time, which
00:48is not the case.
00:49I think the opportunities for people that are professionals to come back is opening up.
00:53But Kimberly's story is not unique.
00:55Recruitment firms working with South Africans abroad say interest in returning home has
01:01been rising, driven by a mix of global uncertainty and shifting priorities.
01:06Angel, you've been doing this for years.
01:09What, in your opinion, is making so many South Africans want to return home?
01:13Trends, though, recently showcased that in the past year and a half, we've seen about
01:20a 25 to 27 percent increase in inquiries of people wanting to return.
01:25The reasons people return has always been friends and family.
01:30And that has remained steady throughout.
01:33I think, obviously, the global uncertainty is, without a doubt, a massive cause.
01:41So more and more we've seen people return home and continue working for their company abroad,
01:46but virtually.
01:48For many, leaving South Africa was once about opportunity.
01:51But returning is often about something else entirely.
01:55The Peters family moved to the UK in search of career growth.
01:59But after seven years, they chose to come back.
02:02We decided that at some point we were going to go and live in the UK to explore better opportunities.
02:10The opportunities were fantastic.
02:13But then we started feeling a little bit homesick.
02:15At the end of 2020, we did come back.
02:19The first and probably the most important is the blue sky.
02:23For me, it was family.
02:26And my children were very close to my parents.
02:28And we know, you know, the crime is a massive issue.
02:31But again, you learn to live with things.
02:34You learn to live within those parameters.
02:36So don't only listen to one group of people.
02:39Do your homework.
02:40And if your heart is really in it, you will find a way to make it work.
02:44For those who have come back, it's not that the challenges have disappeared.
02:48But in an increasingly uncertain world.
02:51For some South Africans, the pull of home is proving stronger than the push to leave.
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