attn: Johannesburg locals

I've more or less been offered a one to two year position starting in January at Potchefstroom University and am finding it hard to make a decision from here seeing as how I don't get the benifit of visiting the area for a job interview before I decide.

My potential employers can answer many questions of course, but I'd like to hear from people who are perhaps closer to my point of view.

I know Potchefstroom isn't exactly in the Johannesburg area per se, but perhaps some of you can offer an opinion of it anyway since it is sort of close (at least in Texas terms)? And how much does one expect to pay for rent around there? The money offer from them isn't that much in US$, but I'm told money goes much much further there than it does here. Besides I'm tempted to take the job just for the chance to live somewhere besides the States for a while.

What about local fire gatherings - you guys do that much? How much of a pain is it going to be for me to get to them from Potchefstroom? I have two pretty solid years of experience playing with fire and have no desire to be stranded on my own isolated island of flames out there. I am definitely going to need fire bretheren within a reasonable distance for the sake of my sanity.

Am I going to completely die of boredom there, or is Johannesburg close enough and interesting enough to save me?

What is the geography like around there?

I love surfing too. How much of a pain will it be to get to the coast say every six weeks or so? Is that the kind of thing I could do for a weekend trip if I fly?

I'm also thinking this is a great chance for me to see a fair bit of Africa. How much does it cost to get around inside the continent? It actually looks quite expensive from here, but I also know airline rates change to some degree when you are not buying from inside the United States. I have a close friend in West Africa. Would it really cost me $1000 to fly from JNB to Niger to visit her?

Anything else you might have to say would be valuable too.

Thankfully I've got till November or so to decide all this.

Thanks in advance.

[ 14 August 2002, 06:20: Message edited by: vanize ]

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