Living in Hout Bay

When we moved to Hout Bay from the Cape Town City Bowl, I kept waiting to miss our old ‘hood. I had loved living in town so much – the vibe, the constant stream of things to do, the feeling of being in the heart of Cape Town with a lovely view of Table Mountain. But then we moved to Hout Bay, and nine years later, I’m still waiting for the day I wake up and wish we lived in town again. I originally wrote this article in 2017, after we’d only lived here a year and a half. It’s now 2024, and I love Hout Bay even more.

The truth is, living in Hout Bay is wonderful. It is absolutely home to me – to us. This morning I dropped my son at playschool (a 2 min drive from home) and went for a walk on the beach before work. It was cold and crisp – the first real Autumn morning – and the sun slanted over the mountains and lit up the waves. There are mountain views on all sides, and a wide expanse of sea, and I saw a ship chugging out to start its day, surrounded by flocks of seagulls; a man SUPping in the first rays of the day’s warmth; a legion of people walking their dogs and a sole horse rider trotting along the shore. Twice a week I walk along Chapman’s Peak and I am astounded – stopped in my tracks – at the beauty of our bay.

Natural beauty every way you look

It is so, so beautiful here. Never mind the fact that we can afford a house with a garden that has mountain views every way you look and is a 5 minute walk from the beach (I never dreamed that was possible!) Even grocery shopping is beautiful, with these amazing views and the scent of the sea as you step out of the shops.

And I love that everything is so close. The shops, the library, the beach, the garden centre – because we’re cut off from the rest of Cape Town, there’s one of everything (except a cinema!) here. Which means there’s a real sense of community: you see the same people moving around their business every day, and we’re all in this together. COVID made this even more of a reality, because we all had to band together to keep each other safe. Although we were all social distancing, there was a real sense of community. Ard Matthews (of Just Jinjer fame!) did a series of free rooftop concerts during lockdown, to keep everyone’s spirits up!

We can drive 5 minutes from home and start a hike that gives us these views! We’re 5 minutes from the beach and Chapmans Peak, 15 minutes from Constantia Nek, half an hour from Table Mountain. I mean, come on! Who gets this lucky?

The Hout Bay commute

The two things that worried me most about living in Hout Bay were the commute and the crime, and I feel like we have a handle on both of them now. The commute is just a matter of adjusting timing – everything takes 20 to 30 minutes, but the drive is a joy, either way. The coastal road is filled with tourists taking photos because it’s so beautiful, and the forested drive up Constantia Nek is similarly lovely and peaceful.

Crime in Hout Bay

The crime element has improved enormously in the last few years, since pretty much every Hout Bay neighbourhood put up video cameras. It took us a little longer to understand the ‘flavour’ of crime because we had to grow up and realise that we didn’t live in a flat anymore… You need an electric fence and beams in the garden and a proper alarm system – that’s just the daily reality. And at least there isn’t all the petty crime of town, that used to drive me nuts!

In 9 years of living here, we’ve had one break-in. It was within a year of moving in, and it was largely because we didn’t understand living in a house. We had just gone away on holiday for 2 weeks, leaving the house clearly empty (we didn’t even ask our neighbours to water the plants!) We had an alarm system, but only for the inside of the house, so anyone could wander around the garden undetected. And we had nothing but a small wooden fence separating us and the empty plot of land next to us. That break-in made us take security more seriously, so we now have an alarm that includes the garden, an electric fence, and an awareness that leaving a house for 2 weeks unattended is not a good idea!

The spirit of Hout Bay

There is also something very real about Hout Bay. So many neighbourhoods in South Africa are like weird little bubbles, where you wouldn’t know you lived in a multi-racial country where people have very different living conditions. Hout Bay isn’t. It’s like a microcosm of South Africa, all in one bay. And as a result, you have people with plenty living next to people with very little, and that can cause some tension. But I have never not felt safe here – I happily walk around alone, drive alone, shop alone. There isn’t a feeling of being hounded, as I often feel in town because the people living on the street are sometimes on drugs, and desperate. Crime is a reality in South Africa, but it takes up very little mental space for us (and our friends) here in Hout Bay.

Simple school system

One more thing to mention is the beautiful school system here. So many of our friends stressed about getting their kids into primary schools – you don’t have to worry about that here. There are all kinds of wonderful play schools (Busy Bees is the best!) Then there’s the amazing Valley Pre-Primary (which many kids reference as their favourite school ever). And right across the road is Kronendal Primary School – a well-run public school with a good academic record, amazing facilities (swimming pool! vegetable garden! full size sports fields!) and great integration. There’s also Ambleside and the International School in Hout Bay, and Llandudno Primary just around the corner. What a joy to not have to worry about schooling until high school! And we’ve recently discovered The Bay Academy, an independent high school following on from their Montessori primary school.

Really, all this is is a little love letter to Hout Bay: the place that I call home. I am so grateful to live here!

If you want to find out more about the daily happenings of Hout Bay, check out Hout Bay Organised on Facebook. For more of my writing, take a look here.