Hubby has really done his best to try and convert me to the South Coast (Pennington) as our retirement destination. Unfortunately the South Coast has not captured my heart…and this is why:

• Pennington will be getting a Hibiscus group hospital. It might be small and still send you around for tests like Kingsway in Amanzimtoti.
• There is no nice grocery shop like a PnP or Checkers Hyper. If my shoulders almost brush the shelves it is too small.
• I don’t play golf and going for lunches at a golf club is not what I want to do as a retiree. I want my Spur grilled chicken burger and nachos. I want fresh croissants for breakfast and vegetarian options for the weeks I revert to my previous way of life.
• I want a choice of doctors, dentists, optometrists and at least a chiropractor within 20 mins of home.
• I would also like to know that I can buy a bit of clothes without bumping into all the old ladies wearing the same thing.
• I don’t want to live out in the sticks. Yes I understand that we can buy a bigger house on the South Coast with a lot less, but I love the North Coast. The infrastructure is already there and I really just need 2 bathrooms, 3 beds, 1 living room and a garage – I’m never going to become a housebound non-beachgoing person.

I just don’t see myself giving up the Dolphin Coast unless a miracle happens.

I grew up in the Transvaal that became the Northern Transvaal and is now Limpopo. I moved to Johannesburg when I was 19 and and also sometimes stay in KZN now that I’m older. Maybe we will end up living on another continent like so many other South Africans or maybe we will hop the border to Namibia or Botswana…