10 things on the tenth

Ten reason I like to live where I do .................

1. The weather. We really have the best weather ever. The only time of year that is not nice is February to March when it is way too hot and humid, but the rest of the year it is awesome. Today at the start of spring the high was 25C, tomorrow is predicted at 30C!. Not many places in the world where even in the middle of winter you can where t-shirts day and night. Sometimes we do have to put on slightly warmer clothes. My coldest I ever remember it being was 5C and that was a few years ago now. We do have a lot of rain but that generally comes in the form of afternoon thunder showers.

2. The relaxed lifestyle. Although the area is growing, it still has a very informal, relaxed atmosphere. Apart from the most expensive restaurants you can pretty much go everywhere in shorts, and definitely jeans. People focus a lot on getting together with friends, socialising and "chilling".

3. The people. Generally friendly and helpful, we have our differences sometimes, true. But, it is a relatively close knit area without being overpowering. I think it helps that there are only a few state schools in the area, so everyone knows everybody else.

4. The cultures. We have a real melting pot of cultures in Durban with evidence all around us. From English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Hindu, Muslim, Italian, Portugese, Chinese, Greek and a few others thrown in between Durban has really been influenced by everything.

Photo: Kleinz1 Flickr







5. The fact that you can buy pretty much anything on the side of the road. These are more traditional souvenirs, but the variety is endless. You could buy any or all of the following: fruit and veggies, sandwiches, cool drinks, cell-phone chargers, jewellery, sports supporters shirts, sunglasses, toys, stationery, batteries, ornaments, furniture, car tyres and hubcabs and the list goes on. (Obviously, one has to make sure it is all legal!)


 Photo KarinXan (Flickr) click to see the original.

6. This is closely related to 5, but I thought it deserved its own entry. The ingenuity of its people. There are many very poor people around here, but there are those who do anything to earn a bit of money. The side of the road shopping is one example, but it is taken a bit further. You also get side of the road services: - fortune tellers, traditional healers, hair cuts, braiding, window washers, car aircon regas, people will take your rubbish awy from your car, car window repairs, in fact the other day I even saw some pool tables set up outside at the taxi rank.

Photo: KarinXan Flickr

7. The fact that there is so much to do, and something for everyone - close to mountains, sea, game reserves, battle fields. The shopping centres, the sports facilities, many theatres, art galleries, museums, casinos etc etc.





Photo: TVR (flickr)






Photo: Kleinz1 Flickr

8. The shows,competitions and markets - Durban has many shows throughout the year. House and Garden, Baby show, wedding show, Air show, surfing competitions, horse racing, show jumping and even a Sexpo (although truthfully I have never been, lol) We have markets all over from food to arts and crafts to car boot sale.

Photo KarinXan (Flickr)



Photo: Ims.photo (Flickr)



Photo: Mister-E (Flickr)

Photo: 9. The architecture - from having such a wide variety of cultures we also have a wide varitey of architecture. From eastern to art deco to more african inspired there is really a bit of everything.



Photo: Kleinz1 Flickr



Photo: Kleinz1


10. And lastly, the beach. I love that we have a bit of everything in the coast line. Some quiet and deserted, some small townish, some heaving with people. You can have whatever you want.





Photo: Kleinz1 Flickr

This post is part of Shimelles 10 things on the tenth. Pop over to her blog to see others or to join in.
Most of the photos are from Flickrs creative commons (my computer is playing up) please click on them to see the original.