I ditched the UK to live in South Africa – cocktails cost pennies, rent is £450 and I can work by the pool

Plum Leigh, 27, has ditched the UK for life in South Africa and says the cost of living leaves her quids in.

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Secondary school tutor Plum pays £450-a-month for a two-bed cottage with a pool and her post-grad degree in teaching costs her £1.5k instead of the £10k she'd pay at home.

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Plum, from Maidenhead, Berks, says cocktails cost £4 and she's saving double what she managed to back in Britain.

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Last year, 33,000 Brits chose South Africa as a holiday destination and 125,000 more visited in the first quarter of this year, as the weak rand ensured low prices.

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Plum had holidayed in South Africa before, and decided to make the move in January 2023.

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From her Johannesburg cottage, Plum is just 90 minutes away from a Plumari Reserve, where safari lovers can see rhinos, lions, elephants, giraffes and buffalo in the wild.

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But she says she pays £120-a-month for medical insurance, and high import taxes mean her 14-year-old Honda cost her £5.5k.

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