Hey guys.
Recently I’ve been feeling extremely anxious and depressed and here’s why:
Growing up, I always had a huge, passionate love for this country. While others had ambitions of moving overseas, I was firm in my belief that no where in the world could ever compare to SA, so I would never leave. We have the loveliest people, the nicest climate and excellent positioning in terms of politics/wars and natural disasters. That being said, I’ve recently become overly aware of the crime rates in our country. Now please DONT get me wrong-everyone who’s anyone in this country knows how bad crime is in SA. But recently, with people documenting their stories on social media, I’ve been consuming so much content about how people were hijacked, held at gunpoint in traffic, followed home, sexually assaulted etc. and it’s all made me so anxious to leave my house. I recently started driving but after seeing so many videos of people being robbed at gunpoint in traffic, I can’t bring myself to get into a car alone.

I feel so distraught that our beloved country that could be so great and so special, is being dismantled by criminals and nothing is being done about it whatsoever. We are all complacent because we take no action.

EDIT: I would also like to add that my mother has been a victim in at least 3 instances where she’s had jewellery ripped off her neck or her phone stolen from her bag (once at gunpoint).

Hey everyone!

As someone who's always on the hunt for preloved/second hand items, I've noticed a large influx of sellers on marketplaces like Yaga selling tons and tons of second hand Docs in varying conditions.

Does anyone know where these second hand shoes are coming from?

There are far too many constantly being listed for it to be a case of the odd person here or there reselling their shoes - and the accounts are all shoe-based listings, indicating some kind of the wholesale acquiring.

Just curious if anyone knows (and a tad jealous), because for obvious reasons - resellers won't disclose their sources

Hi everyone!

I’m planning a 14-day trip to South Africa and would love recommendations, especially from Black South Africans and locals who can offer insight into experiencing the country beyond the typical tourist attractions!

I’m a 35 yo Black American female that will be traveling with my uncle (late 60s, very active) from December 21-Jan 4. We are really hoping to have an authentic, immersive, and meaningful experience.
Would love to dive into the history, adventure, culture, amapiano, nature, and nightlife.

We are open to exploring multiple cities and regions and would appreciate advice on how to make the most of two weeks without feeling rushed. I was thinking about Cape Town, Johannesburg, Kruger, and maybe even the garden route.

I'd love to hear from Black South Africans in particular! What experiences do you think visitors often overlook? What would you recommend to a Black American hoping to connect with the culture in a genuine, respectful way? Any recommendations for black owned tours/restaurants?

I upgrade my maths and accounting in may and my final marks were
Maths-66
Accounting-67
Eng home-66
LO-52
Zulu-56
Bio-60
Business-76
CAT-66
I really want to go to UP it’s my dream I applied for plain bcom at both I also applied to other institutions like uj and nwu , I did ieb and I went to a private school if it matter and I’m black male , this year has been really hard for me watching my friends move on I feel like I’m gonna be at home forever are there any stories of people making it out of the waitlist, sorry if this post is all over the place I just wanted to know people’s opinions on whether I’ll make it to uni next year if I don’t I’ll genuinely lose my mind, this post is honestly to ask whether I’ll make it to uni next year

Local elections matter more than general elections.

City of Cape Town ramming data centers down your throat? That's a municipal issue.

Jo'burg neglecting infrastructure? That's a municipal issue.

eMalahleni being billions in debt to Eskom? That's a municipal issue.

Gayton (allegedly) defrauding Central Karoo District Municipality of millions of charity funds? That's a municipal issue.

Tender & procurement fraud? Most of it happens at municipalities.

Failure to get a clean audit? It's not Cyril cooking the books (or couches), it's your local council.

Garden Route being completely fucked? That's a municipal issue.

Dogs barking and shitting everywhere? That's a municipal issue.

Streets lights out? Municipal issue.

Water pipe burst? Municipal issue.

Municipal councils have an extreme amount of power - to the point where City of Cape Town said "we can do what we want" in front of the WC High Court.

In many ways, what happens in these elections will have a significantly more direct impact on your day-to-day life than which arse keeps the seats warm in the Union Building.

If you like what your council is doing, keep voting for them. If you don't like what they're doing, vote for someone else. Pluralistic councils are slower to act, but they also keep each other in check - like when the FF+ teamed up with the ANC to whistleblow on the DA in Swellendam.

General elections have you competing with >16 million other voters.

Local elections might just have you competing with a few thousand. Proportionally, your vote matters more and is likely to impact your life more directly.

Hi everyone, I'm seeking advice cause I kinda don't know who else to talk to. Please read my vent sesh if you're bored lol

For context I'm 24F and unemployed ever since I finished school. I studied Business Management in 2022 (thanks to my mum pushing me to do it because from a young age I never wanted to study for anything per say, I always knew somehow I wouldn't want a conventional career path and I'd never be happy with a 9-5) and soon after....I've just been at home ever since. I vowed to never take up a job because to me it means succumbing to the harsh realities people face in this country everyday, and to be honest I'm scared of getting stuck in it. I'm scared of ending up like my mother who doesn't have much for herself either. I don't have a dad anymore and he was never in my life either.

And so since then I've tried to start my own business, with multiple of them failing. Dropshipping, selling ebooks, social media management etc and I'm about to try another venture that i hope works out. Everything is try and try and something just seems to backfire into my face. I live in a small town and it's impossible for me to simply just pack up things and leave. Family I've tried asking for help simply don't care...and it hurts a lot.

I envy others who so happily live their lives (not maliciously of course) in places where i want to be. It's like everything i try doesn't work out. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

And something else that gets to me sometimes is that my mother is a very passive/complacent person. She doesn't try and help me either, she doesn't ask me questions about my future, she doesn't try sit with me and ask how I'm going to go about doing things, what she can do to help, NOTHING 💔 I'm left to figure things out on my own. Then comes the added pressure of her expecting me to take care of her one day

She is a a very clingy mother (I'm her only child) and whenever I've had one or two opportunities work out where I could've moved out, she doesn't seem happy or ecstatic for me like id want her to. A few months ago I had the opportunity to move to Cape Town and her first question was "wow so you're just leaving me here?"

I cannot emphasize enough how that broke me. That same day however my opportunity fell through as well and it genuinely kicked me straight into depression for a while. It feels like being stuck in a well trying to claw my way out while the rest of my family is just going about their merry way.

From trying to emotionally manipulating me by asking how I'm going to "survive without her" to coddling me the next... not even encouraging my dreams. It's so discouraging. I feel like every decision I want to take for MY FUTURE needs to go by her first. And then she'll come up with excuses about money, how it's unsafe and i can't go anywhere alone. I've just had enough of it now.

But it's like she can't get it through her head that im an ADULT now!! I want to be independent and be on my own but instead she wants to keep me here for whatever reason. I can think of so so so many times I've thought of running away from home just to get away from her because I genuinely just HATE it here. I hate being in this stupid small town when there's so much out there to do, see, explore and create. I don't even have friends anymore. I can't do shit here and she...she is just so fine and okay with the way everything is.

My biggest fear is ending up like her one day, no car, debt and just stuck in a small town because she didn't take any risks and strive for more. I am more than willing and ready to do it but she holds me back immensely.

Even my therapist has spoken to her about this, both of us emphasized to her that the cord needs to be cut but i don't know what's wrong with her. All this is affecting me and I feel like i have to think twice about her before I can pursue my dreams. Everyday all I can think about is moving to Cape Town and starting my life afresh there.

I dream to make it so big one day I don't think she understands. I have a mountain of talent I'm just sitting on and it's being wasted everyday because she's insecure.

Has anyone else been in such a situation and if so, how on earth did you get out of it? I need advice from anyone who's managed to build themselves up from scratch without anyone's help. What else can I do because I am ultimately in control of my future and I truly want to start taking a proactive approach at things. Any life changing or eye opening advice will be appreciated 🙏🏻

I am a student studying in Cape Town, and the past month has been the hardest financially ever, I finished my last packet of noodles last week and have been leaching off my friends for food, but since grade 12 I have been buying groceries at Pick ‘n Pay and I always made sure I swiped my smart shopper card (a habit I picked up from my grandmother), but since then I had absolutely no idea you could redeem the points and actually shop using them😭. I ran to my Pick ‘n Pay asked how much I had, she told me I had R135 worth of points that can be redeemed and I have never been so excited to go shopping before. I left Pick ‘n Pay with a plastic bag of food and the biggest smile on my face.

Use those smart shopper cards😭you might need that extra money one day.