Out and about: an email from England

In Out and about we talk to people who currently live or have lived and worked abroad. This week, we chatted with Adriaan Laubscher, who lives in the New Forest area in the south of England.

Hello Adriaan, it is so lovely to meet you. Tell us, why did you choose to emigrate to England?

Thanks for the opportunity. Wow, we have done proper research on different places around the world. We compared lists of the possibilities and decided that England would be the best. I visited England in the 1990s and really liked the country. The other day I came across a note I wrote to my wife Linda on the plane. At that stage we were both Kovsie students in Bloemfontein. I wrote, “This is definitely a place for us.” I never thought we would, after all, end up here.

The advantages for us were the language, the proximity to Europe and of course the fact that we got to know the country a little on previous visits and liked it. Initially, we strongly considered moving to Scotland and in 2015 spent around 5 000 km in the car exploring Scotland.

We moved here in 2017 and explored the country for about three months. We had a shortlist of possible areas we wanted to visit, and it was fun getting to know the country in such a way. It has also helped a lot with our consulting business, which provides guidance to people who want to move here.

We came across a beautiful school here in Hampshire County and my son Lihan was immediately at home and happy. That is why we decided to settle near the school. I think three significant points need to come together. For us it was a good school for our child, a pleasant geographical environment, and of course, a place to earn an income. We had some business ideas and started with them.

How did you experience the emigration process to England?

I think different people experience such a big move differently. It depends on the kind of visa you have. We applied for an entrepreneur visa, which sets specific requirements that a new business must meet before the visa expires. These criteria have changed a lot since we came to live here.

We were quite familiar with establishing a new business because we were also entrepreneurs in South Africa. I think our biggest advantage was that we asked Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants for help. We would not have been able to do this without JP Breytenbach’s support and assistance. And despite that, we still lay awake a few nights worrying. It’s probably part of any move, especially internationally.

What was the biggest adaptation for you abroad?

Now that is a nice question. I will have to do some self-examination before I answer. I don’t think it is one specific thing but possibly different little tweaks. It also varies as we spend time here. We are a small family, and we increasingly realise the value of family around us. Of course, we miss our people. This will surely be the biggest adaption for anyone. Adapting to the language, new places, weather, and other rules and regulations are expected in new places, and they did not bother us. In fact, the great pleasure of new places is new experiences.

I always joke that if the weather is the worst thing people talk about when they talk about the UK, it sure is not too bad. I grew up in the Free State and rain has always been a blessing and a treat for me. However, here on the south coast we get a lot more blue-sky days than I expected. The summers are lovely with nice long days. The winters are cold at times, but they bring a different charm. The Christmas lights and markets are picture-perfect in December.

A friend in South Africa and I have an agreement to say a brief prayer for each other every time we put fuel in our cars. I always send a picture and let him know when I pray for him. It is amazing what a photo or quick WhatsApp message can means when you are far away from people.

Tell us more about your family. You mentioned that your son is an avid cricketer.

We are truly grateful for the grace and blessings we experience. We support each other a lot and it makes a big difference. Every parent will surely agree that if your child is doing well, you are also doing well.

Linda and I met in Bloemfontein at university. She grew up in the Eastern Cape, and we moved to Jeffreys Bay after a few years in Bloemfontein. We lived there for about 15 years before moving to the UK.

I always like to talk about Lihan’s achievements with gratitude. He does very well in school. The school system is excellent, and the opportunities are endless. Lihan is in Ballard School, a private (independent) school. He enjoys all sports, and it is nice that the British consider us South Africans good sportspeople. They will often joke about being so lucky to have a South African in their team. One coach said at an award ceremony, “Every good England cricket team needs a South African.”

Lihan is now 13 years old and was asked to start playing for the cricket club’s adult team this year. He is also in the club’s under 13A team and is privileged to be part of the Hampshire Cricket Player Pathway. It is a program that ensures that young talent gets good coaching, opening up possibilities for professional cricket in the County and country.

Of course, the schools also have their own sports programs, but here in England, children are invited to the sports clubs that have junior programs and teams. We are lucky that the club’s beautiful grounds are right next to the school. Cricket lovers will enjoy hearing how beautiful the small towns and cricket grounds are. Lihan was also privileged to meet some cricketers like Rilee Rossouw and AB de Villiers while they played County cricket here at the Ageas Bowl. We are very grateful for the time they always make to have a few words with him.

We as a family enjoy the beautiful nature here and the freedom to go for a walk in the forest. The area we live in is called the New Forest and originated in about 1079.

I really enjoy cycling through the New Forest and showing our customers the beautiful area. The Forest is famous for the ponies that roam freely. Our biggest traffic jams occur when the New Forest ponies stand in the road and the cars have to wait for them to give way. Many mornings we wake to the sound of horses walking by in the street because many people are riding. The combination of nature, farm life and a busy city is interesting.

We are approximately 30 minutes from two major cities: Southampton, where the Titanic’s voyage began, and Bournemouth. We are also roughly an hour and 45 minutes by train from Waterloo train station in London.

Our businesses are located in a town called Lymington, and our two shops are on a pretty cobblestone street. Come and visit if you are in Lymington.

How does the school system in England differ from that in South Africa?

This is a question I have to answer quite often during consulting sessions, and I have also helped to write an article or two about it. There is no short answer. It is different, but it works. Good schools will always make sure that children who are new and move here fit in easily. What is important, however, is how we as parents handle the move and prepare our children for their future here. If one approaches it with a positive attitude, the opportunities are tremendous. There are two main streams: independent (private) and government schools. All have an Ofsted rating system which helps a lot to determine the standard of a school. It was interesting to get used to a school year ending in July when it is summer here. The following school year then starts again in September. Then there are a few other differences such as meals at school and longer school days. School days at private schools usually last from 08:30 to 16:00, after which most children participate in an activity such as sport or drama until 17:00. In the winter months, when the days are short, it gets dark at 16:00 and I pick Lihan up from school at night (or at least, that is what it feels like!).

You are entrepreneurs of note and have already started a few businesses. Tell us more.

We had a few businesses in Jeffreys Bay as well. It has always been our dream to establish businesses and provide people with employment opportunities and hopefully change lives. We realise more and more that it is all grace.

We currently have Soft Landings, a consultancy business that advises people considering immigrating to the UK. Please read more on our website at www.softlandingsuk.com.

Linda also sells personalised gifts online. She is also sending gifts on behalf of people in South Africa to their relatives in the United Kingdom. Feel free to contact her at linda@L3enterprises.co.uk or visit her website at www.aboutyou.gifts.

We also have an agency for the Hannon product range in the UK because Linda used it in her hair salons in South Africa. Have a look at www.hannonuk.co.uk.

Then we also have a bike rental business, New Forest Bikes. We saw the possibility because the area attracts many tourists and has many cycling routes in the New Forest. We have had this business for about three years now. The website is www.newforestbikes.co.uk.

I had a photography studio in South Africa for about ten years and still enjoy photography, but at this point, I only do it on an ad hoc basis on request.

Do you want to add anything else?

There is so much to tell. Thanks for the opportunity to share some of it. We try to visit as many places in the United Kingdom as possible. South Africa will always remain close to our hearts, and we miss certain places and our people very much.

The coast here is different from what we are used to but is also beautiful in a different way.

The vegetation and trees are so thick that the tree branches grow over the roads in certain places and make tunnels in summer. We call it tree tunnels. The hedges grow so dense that one sometimes really drives through plant tunnels on the narrowest paths. We enjoy history, and there’s a lot of it here! We often visit castles, and the past is almost palpable.

Some of our favourite places are the Jurassic Coast in Devon County, Bath, Cornwall, and the Lakes District.

One experiences seasonal changes intensely. The summers are great, but so are the beautiful colour changes of the forest during autumn. The winters are a bit cool, but to us, December is gorgeous with all the Christmas lights and markets.

Our support network here in the United Kingdom and South Africa is very important to us! I have some very good friends who I often use as a sounding board and who have helped me make many decisions. It is so valuable. Of course, our family’s calls and visits are invaluable.