Millennials find happiness in Cape Town

Cape Town is a hot location for millennials. According to a 2018 report by housing aggregator website Nestpick, the city ranks among the best cities in the world for Generation Y’ers.

Millennials like having the world at their fingertips. With the resurgence of cities as centres of economic energy and vitality, a majority are opting to live in urban areas over the suburbs or rural communities. – Nielsen in a Report on why Millennials prefer cities to suburbs.

We hit the city’s streets to find out why millennials love Cape Town. Here’s what they had to say:

Irene Namutebi, 26, Uganda

“I’m an intern at Symbiotics, a development finance company in Cape Town, and currently doing my Masters in Development Finance at UCT’s Graduate School of Business. The city is very different to Harrismith in the Free State province, where I lived previously. It’s more diverse and open. You find a lot of foreigners here, so you are able to engage with people from different countries. As a millennial, I enjoy the openness of the city and people wanting to modernise and just explore. People are able to express themselves freely. My dad got a role at UCT, he is a professor and we had to move to Cape Town. It’s been an amazing experience so far. If I could change one thing about the city, I’d make it compulsory for restaurants to serve more diverse foods, from across the continent. That would be fantastic.”

Arthur Oliveira, 22, from São Paulo (Brazil)

“I had planned to stay for only six months, but extended because I simply love Cape Town. I arrived in the city in 2017 as an operations intern at an online car selling company. Today, I’m the back office salesman. The thing about Cape Town is – there’s a lot of things to do and see. Cape Town is one of the most diverse cities I’ve been to. I’m from São Paulo, a party hub. Cape Town is much like it, but better because there’s just so much more to do. You have great beaches, the mountain and surf. One minute you in Cape Point seeing penguins, and within a few minutes you can be on a wine farm or hiking up a mountain. Brazil is a very diverse country, but Cape Town is super diverse – you can literally meet people from across the world here. The diversity in the office is phenomenal – we have Italians, French, Xhosas, Asians working together and learning from each other. It really bring something else. I’ve learnt a lot. It was very enriching for me to move here.”

Zokwanda Madalane, 32, Alice (Eastern Cape)

“I work as a researcher for Parliament’s portfolio committee on trade and industry. Generally, Cape Town is comfortable, the people are friendly. What makes the city great is the fact that everything is here – the mountain, the beach and business. Things are also easily accessible and quite convenient. I’m loving it so far.”

Matoko Daniel Joao, 37, from Angola

“Cape Town is just fantastic and very appealing to young people. I’m a student at the English Plus Academy in the city centre and it’s been an amazing journey so far. Everything you need is here – the mountain, the ocean and beautiful people. I find it easy to move around the city – all you need is a MyCiTi bus card.”