City living: huge diversity of flats to rent in Johannesburg

The largest city in South Africa, the capital of Gauteng Province and where the country’s Constitutional Court is based, Johannesburg originated as a dusty settlement that sprung up after the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand reef in the 1880s. Over a century later, Joburg – or Egoli (place of gold), as it is sometimes called – has developed into urban and suburban sprawls inhabited by between 3-million and 11-million people, depending on where you draw the boundaries in terms of the many towns and suburbs that surround the original precincts.

Sky-scrapers began going up from the middle of the 20th century. Freeways were built in the ’60s and ’70s that paved the way for more residential developments and the decentralisation of commerce and industry. Plenty of shopping malls and office parks were built in all directions, with Sandton, Rosebank and Eastgate among the biggest growth points.

Among the city’s many attractions today are The Apartheid Museum in Ormonde, which deals with how the former National Party government condemned some 20-million people to second-class status, humility and abuse, and how they were liberated with the election of Nelson Mandela as president. Next door to this museum, the Gold Reef City complex is a re-creation of Joburg as it was over 100 years ago, characterised by Victorian buildings, mine shafts, underground tours, the world’s deepest pub as well as a theme park and casino. Another of the landmarks is the calabash-styled FNB Stadium at Soccer City in Diepkloof, the venue of some great entertainment – especially when the country’s most popular teams Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates are playing against each other.

In terms of the real estate market, are properties for sale that fit every description and every pocket, while the flats to rent in Johannesburg range from tiny, very basic bachelor pads just off the street to penthouse-likeapartments with all the mod-cons and in the plushest suburbs.Right in the middle of the Joburg CBD you can let bachelor, one-bedroom and two-bedroom flats in one of the high-rises for between R2500 and R4000 a month. Away from the hustle and bustle on the perimeter of the CBD, flats in secure complexes range from R4000 to R6000 to R8000 and even R20 000 for the very best in Houghton or Sandton, for example. Bargains for two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments in good suburbs range from R5000 for a place including security access-control, a couple of parking bays and a communal garden, to R11 000 for a very large, modern apartment with everything you could wish for.