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DV 2016 Winners from South Africa

YES! You hit the nail on the head about lurkers! Which is bizarre in my opinion. I'm the type of person that always does due diligence to my fullest capacity and that's always stood me in good stead as I've been prepared for whatever I've done the research on. Can't imagine never asking for advice as part of a process like this! I've learned so much in just a week! I joined SAUSA a few months ago and read all the old posts (started doing the same thing on here too) and actually want to go and re-read them again now because my memory fades on certain details I've read and also now that I know the terminology etc I can actually understand more about what was written in those old posts. :p
 
Im from SA too been entering since 2010:) Sadly not selected yet. BTW what is up with the SAUSA forums, are they down?
 
Yup it's down today. There's a lot of gremlins on that site. It often wont let me open the page citing "forbidden". Also when I try open it from my laptop it nvigates me away from the site and then when I immedietly run a virus and malware scan I find stuff on my laptop. It's really odd. I need to ask on the site about that last part because I only discovered it recently. Cleaned my laptop, then it happened, cleaned it again, it happened again, cleaned again... happened 3 times now. Bizarre.

Shame Saun, it is so disheartening when you click on the button and get a not selected flagged up. :( Really hope you get lucky next year!! You've been trying forever bud!! Have you got any idea where you'd go to if you got lucky?
 
Yeah I have noticed it too sometimes it sends me to some "interesting" websites. Weird.

I'm already actually here in the US on a student visa pickles. I have been here for 3 years now and graduate next year. I'm in North Dakota (extremely cold haha) but I love it here. You guys should look into the Midwest. People are very friendly, great place to bring up a family too very, very safe still. I leave my car running when I go grocery shopping, keys in ignition no problem. Lots of Job opportunities here too. Minneapolis is a beautiful city if you'd ever consider somewhere to start off. A few South Africans living there too
 
saunj11 said:
Yeah I have noticed it too sometimes it sends me to some "interesting" websites. Weird.

I'm already actually here in the US on a student visa pickles. I have been here for 3 years now and graduate next year. I'm in North Dakota (extremely cold haha) but I love it here. You guys should look into the Midwest. People are very friendly, great place to bring up a family too very, very safe still. I leave my car running when I go grocery shopping, keys in ignition no problem. Lots of Job opportunities here too. Minneapolis is a beautiful city if you'd ever consider somewhere to start off. A few South Africans living there too
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Run a virus and malware scan on your pc. Ten to one there's something on it now. It's a bit worrying...

I always wanted to see the Dakotas when I lived stateside. Not too bothered with the cold in winter as long as we do see some kind of summer. (Been living in London so long now I forgot what heat is like lol).
I remember the safety aspect too, we often would go shopping and leave the car (and back home, the house) unlocked and find it still there when we got back. Awesome feeling!
 
Hi all. I am new here. My husband had a successful entry and we are submitting for further processing. My sister in-law won it 5 years back and I know 3 other South Africans that have won. Out of the 4, only 1 was already working in the USA when they got it. We have been playing for 10 years and this is the first time we had success.
 
Oh awesome! Another saffa! Yay! Well done Sanmari! How do you guys feel about it now that you've won? Quite a shock to the system hey? :D

What's your number? Ours is AF30xxx. Still haven't a clue when we will be called for interviews. Do you know what state you want to go live in? We are giving CO a serious consideration. :)
 
Huge shock! Dont know who cried more: me, my hubby or his parents. We are still filling forms, so hopeful. We are considering Fl or TX. Hubby has oppertunities in both states, but his family is in FL.
 
Ha ha. We haven't shed any tears yet, just a big old ball of tense knots in our tummies as we try figure this journey out.

Ugh, I lived in the sunshine state before and honestly I'd have to be pretty desperate to return there. I never did get used to the tar buckling and melting and sticking to my trainers, or the huge swim park at our golf estate being warmer than how I like my winter baths ere in England, and let me not forget the flat, flaaaaat scenery where the most exciting hill I ever saw was the bridge in Jacksonville (where I lived) and the occasional small hump-bridge over a water logged bit of swamp. Oh, and the bugs. LOTS of bugs. We just don't get critters in London so I've become a bit 'sanitised' to them. Lol. Can you tell I loved it there? :p

We have TX on our list to look into, but we have been getting conflicting reports about it, and to be honest I'm not sure I'm ready to move to a state that gets pummeled by super cells every year. I may just make my hubby dig a DEEP shelter under a rock somewhere just in case. :D The no income tax thing is an attractive option, but given my utter lack in tax-understanding in the US it's entirely possible I'm missing some major point there somewhere. ;)

Those forms... ugh... Fun hey? 74 pages of ... fun-ness. My hubby has moved a LOT in his life and it was a tad stressful trying to figure out all his addesses since the age of 16. There is at least a dozen there. After getting that far I saved and left it there. I just hope there's no big issue to not submitting the forms any time soon.
 
Pickles said:
Ha ha. We haven't shed any tears yet, just a big old ball of tense knots in our tummies as we try figure this journey out.

Ugh, I lived in the sunshine state before and honestly I'd have to be pretty desperate to return there. I never did get used to the tar buckling and melting and sticking to my trainers, or the huge swim park at our golf estate being warmer than how I like my winter baths ere in England, and let me not forget the flat, flaaaaat scenery where the most exciting hill I ever saw was the bridge in Jacksonville (where I lived) and the occasional small hump-bridge over a water logged bit of swamp. Oh, and the bugs. LOTS of bugs. We just don't get critters in London so I've become a bit 'sanitised' to them. Lol. Can you tell I loved it there? :p

We have TX on our list to look into, but we have been getting conflicting reports about it, and to be honest I'm not sure I'm ready to move to a state that gets pummeled by super cells every year. I may just make my hubby dig a DEEP shelter under a rock somewhere just in case. :D The no income tax thing is an attractive option, but given my utter lack in tax-understanding in the US it's entirely possible I'm missing some major point there somewhere. ;)

Those forms... ugh... Fun hey? 74 pages of ... fun-ness. My hubby has moved a LOT in his life and it was a tad stressful trying to figure out all his addesses since the age of 16. There is at least a dozen there. After getting that far I saved and left it there. I just hope there's no big issue to not submitting the forms any time soon.
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Just to be sure you understand, the "no income tax" means no state income tax - you still pay federal tax. Some states add state income tax. Surprisingly, they still get a lot of people wanting to live there, cos ...y'know sometimes if you pay peanuts you get monkeys ;)
Everyone is different. Like you I could never live in FL, or TX either. But I know many South Africans in both states very happy there. That said the bulk of the people I know are either in the northeast or California.
 
My in-laws have been living in FL for 14 years and love it there. My brother in-law and his family lived in TX for 3 years, then also moved to FL. We will go where the money is:p
 
SusieQQQ said:
Just to be sure you understand, the "no income tax" means no state income tax - you still pay federal tax. Some states add state income tax. Surprisingly, they still get a lot of people wanting to live there, cos ...y'know sometimes if you pay peanuts you get monkeys ;)
Everyone is different. Like you I could never live in FL, or TX either. But I know many South Africans in both states very happy there. That said the bulk of the people I know are either in the northeast or California.
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Yup, I've heard there's federal tax. I'm guessing I'm a moonkie for going to a state with the extra state tax. Ha ha. Tell me, after all is said and done, are you roughly more or less the same off at the end of the day? Just as an example some states take you to church and back with property tax but less so on other taxes and vice versa? Wondering if everything balances out at the end of the day..?
 
Sanmari said:
My in-laws have been living in FL for 14 years and love it there. My brother in-law and his family lived in TX for 3 years, then also moved to FL. We will go where the money is:p
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Whereabouts in FL are they?

Yup definitely go where the work is. That's our plan too. I just hope CO works out. :D
 
Sanmari said:
My in-laws have been living in FL for 14 years and love it there. My brother in-law and his family lived in TX for 3 years, then also moved to FL. We will go where the money is:p
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You need to go where the net money is!! You'll (generally) earn more in NY or CA, but pay a lot more too for housing for example. Assuming that money is your main criterion ;)

Pickles said:
Yup, I've heard there's federal tax. I'm guessing I'm a moonkie for going to a state with the extra state tax. Ha ha. Tell me, after all is said and done, are you roughly more or less the same off at the end of the day? Just as an example some states take you to church and back with property tax but less so on other taxes and vice versa? Wondering if everything balances out at the end of the day..?
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Some do, some it depends on your income level, and as I alluded to above, sometimes you are paying more for a better quality of life. Some people may not care if they never see another museum or theatre show in their life, others can't imagine moving to a city without any cultural life - as an example. It may also depend on your personal political beliefs and how comfortable you feel with the majority around you. Etc.
 
Pickles said:
Yup, I've heard there's federal tax. I'm guessing I'm a moonkie for going to a state with the extra state tax. Ha ha. Tell me, after all is said and done, are you roughly more or less the same off at the end of the day? Just as an example some states take you to church and back with property tax but less so on other taxes and vice versa? Wondering if everything balances out at the end of the day..?
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Comparing the UK to CA, I would say I am paying more tax and hidden taxes than in the UK - but salary levels are higher to compensate, and frankly, as Susie said, you get what you pay for.
 
Sanmari said:
Hi all. I am new here. My husband had a successful entry and we are submitting for further processing. My sister in-law won it 5 years back and I know 3 other South Africans that have won. Out of the 4, only 1 was already working in the USA when they got it. We have been playing for 10 years and this is the first time we had success.
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HUGE congrats Sanmari and welcome to this nice forum. Enjoy the journey and the good luck.
The race for us will still continue to see which will be first, the dv lottery GC or die Family F4 visa.
 
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