Coming Home: What A South African Returning From Abroad Should Consider

There is a particular kind of quiet that settles over South Africans living abroad, the one that arrives at a braai in a park somewhere in London or Perth or Dubai, when someone mentions the smell of fynbos after rain, spotting pinguins off the coast of Cape Town, or the way the light falls on the Drakensberg in the late afternoon. For many, the pull eventually becomes a decision – returning home.

It is a deeply personal choice, and for high-net-worth individuals who have spent years or sometimes decades building wealth outside South Africa, it is also a structurally complex one. The question is not simply whether to return, but how, and in what order.

In my work with returning South Africans and their professional advisers, many returnees experience reverse culture shock upon returning to South Africa and often wish they had considered certain things, prior to the move home. The most common mistake I see is the emotional decision being made first and the financial decision being