My husband (Siraaj Cassiem) and I arrived in Jozi (Johannesburg) in 2003, so 2013 marked a decade in the City of Gold. I am originally from Cape Town, and whenever I heard of Johannesburg, I always had this vision of doom and gloom and inner city squalor, as this was mostly what was seen on television.

So it was with a tad of trepidation that I agreed to join my husband in Jozi when he was transferred there in 2003, when he worked for eTV. Apparently, some of the biggest forms of stress involve moving house, moving to a new city and changing jobs – and I was doing all 3 in one step with this move.

Fortunately, my brother-in-law lived in Pretoria at the time, so he was able to take us around to view possible places to rent, which we had done a month before Siraaj moved to Johannesburg. We found a lovely cottage to rent in Jan Smuts Avenue in Parktown North, which was very central.

The big day came on 2 September 2003. Siraaj had moved up a month before me, as I needed to work out my notice period at work. I put my car on the train the day before and flew up to Egoli.

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