There are parts of the Western Cape that remind me of coastal California, with extensive upper class suburbs, shopping malls and the exquisite Paarl wine country. That area is more racially diverse as well and the opposition party is in power there, not the ANC. 1The financial center of Sandton, outside of Johannesburg, reminds me of Irvine. There’s a lot of money in South Africa, but the disparity between rich and poor is pretty shocking. While there’s a thriving black upper middle class, some of whom I got to know, the legacy of apartheid is still pretty strong.
In fact, there’s been a bit of a reverse migration of white South Africans back to SA. Really a very interesting place to visit.