Viv Vermaak: (Why) are Joburgers friendlier than Capetonians? - Biznews

Viv Vermaak shares her reflections on moving from Johannesburg to Cape Town, exploring the cultural and social differences between the two cities. Drawing from personal experiences and observations, she delves into the perception that Joburgers are friendlier than Capetonians, examining the nuances of openness and engagement. Through anecdotes, historical context, and a humorous lens, Vermaak unpacks the complexities of social interactions shaped by geography, climate, and local attitudes.

Viv Vermaak

In my keynote presentation, The great trek back, I reflect on my move to Cape Town from Joburg, highlighting some of the main differences I observe. I used to work in the Sandton area. I lived in Germiston, so I arrived in the mother city viewing variances through these professional and cultural lenses. In this article, I investigate the perception that Joburgers are friendlier than Capetonians. Is this true?

Upon moving provinces, certain differences are immediate and visceral; it ‘feels’ strange, and it looks new: the weather, the bloody mountain, and the earthly terrain. Other changes are more subtle because they are human; tone of voice, small behavioural clues that you are dealing with a group of people who see their place in the country and the world differently from you. Sometimes the terrestrial and psychological are interconnected. Throw in some history and politics and you have a delicious puzzle to unpick.

Capetonians and Joburgers appear to agree that the latter is more friendly. Epidemiological surveys in the form of radio station polls and longitudinal feedback systems from friends and family who have made the move come to the same conclusion.

Smile FM, a Cape Town radio station, ran a poll to ask locals how they identify Joburgers. That great South African litmus test – interaction with supermarket cashier – sums it up in a response: “They greet you. They show courtesy to even the cashiers and Uber drivers.”

In fact, Joburgers have started flaunting this quality as a type of tourist attraction. It is an attribute that has a long history. Apartheid-era industrialist, Harry Oppenheimer, who lived his whole life in Johannesburg, once quipped: “In Johannesburg, there is nothing to see and in Cape Town, no one to talk to.” In more recent interviews I did with people who have experienced both worlds, someone offered: “I’d rather be knifed in Johannesburg than ignored in Cape Town.”

More ready to engage
These statements suggest that people from Joburg are more ready to engage than Capetonians. Upon reflection, I would rather call that quality ‘openness,’ as opposed to ‘friendliness.’ Joburgers are more likely to participate, whether it be a braai with friends, conversation with strangers, friendship or combat. They might be more friendly but also more rude, more aggressive and more intense. They have the capacity for a larger variety of human interaction and a broader spectrum of extremity than you would see in the cautious ‘politeness’ of Capetonians.

Some of this can be ascribed to the weather. Humans, like other large apes, are responsive to weather patterns. We say people have a ‘sunny’ disposition or are ‘under the weather.’ Humans become more social when temperatures rise, up to a point. When it goes higher than 21 degrees Celsius, humans stand the risk of becoming more irritable and aggressive. If it drops too low, you tend to go indoors and avoid activity.

Sunlight also has a direct influence on our biochemistry. The moment it hits the hypothalamus in the morning it sets into motion our circadian clock which regulates sleep, metabolism and mood. Too little sun and you will languish. Studies in primates show that weather and temperature affect the duration the animals spend grooming, the human equivalent of quality social interaction.

For instance, Jamaicans are associated with being gregarious and Finns with being introverted. Look where they live: Finns have 10 months of winter and only two of summer. They are also a sparsely populated country. Over time, they have come to value their solitude. Small talk is not big in Finland, but in densely populated areas, it becomes a survival strategy.

Hustle harder
It should come as no surprise then, that people from Gauteng are more outgoing because they literally go out more. The weather on the Highveld is more moderate and even throughout the year. People from Cape Town are the way they are because the weather is so kak. For three months of the year, the place comes to a standstill and all you hear is complaints about the wind and rain. It is also why Gauteng people are sharper, hustle harder, and work more – they operate at slightly higher rates of serotonin, adrenaline and dopamine more consistently, and for longer. It becomes a culture.

People from Slaapstad are not necessarily sleepy, they are just constantly three months less productive per year. Over time, this adds up. Harsher climates also lead to adaptive responses. It starts to make sense to conserve your energy budget. You yield to forces of nature you cannot predict or control, so you might as well chillax. Mexicans have a similar version of African time; the word ‘ahorita’ (now, now-now, just now) almost certainly means not now, but sometimes, perhaps, but not necessarily. Cape Town has its own version. Coming from a high-pressured work environment in the marketing and advertising industry, the stop-start rhythm of life here is frustrating at first, but I am almost in a state of surrender now. It becomes too much effort to resist.

Cliquey nature
There appears to be an intersection between the quality I call ‘openness’ in Joburgers and the legendary cliquey nature of Capetonians. I am not a sociable person. I wouldn’t recognise a clique if it stood right in front of me and turned its back on me. I will be honest and say I experienced the opposite. I was welcomed by many people, including Facebook friends, my Jiu Jitsu club, and MENSA members. This never happened in Germiston, although the one lady lowered her voice when she told me: “I’m inviting you to my home because nobody else will. They are very cliquey down here.”

A restaurant manager in Blouberg who used to work in Fourways says he definitely noticed a certain standoffishness from Cape Town customers which he wasn’t used to. “They think they own the place,” he said. “In Joburg, customers are more respectful and aware of other people’s territory. They will ask before they just start moving the tables around to suit them.” It is a curious juxtaposition of traits but hints at the perceived arrogance of Capetonians, described by someone as a ‘Settler’ mentality. “They think when they sit on a riempiesbank the sunlight comes in blocks,” she said.

The rivalry between the two cities is affectionate but palpable. It has a long heritage. Cape Town is the mother city, the original seat of the old colonials. It retains some of that in its splendour, natural beauty, and the legacies of old money, sophistication, and superiority. In contrast, Joburg displays the brash egalitarianism of the Americans when they separated from Great Britain, distinguishing themselves through hard work and industry, forsaking obvious class distinction.

Form of dishonesty
Germiston, where I lived for most of my life, is a much more integrated area in terms of earning power, race and class. The Gold Rush of 1886 brought all levels of society together, forging them into a pressure cooker. Politeness becomes a form of rudeness under these conditions because it wastes time and is perceived to be a form of dishonesty. Life is harsher in Johannesburg and more brutal. Without knowing it, you assimilate aspects of collectivism and multiculturalism. You become much more aware of others because there is a consequence if you don’t. The relentless friction of struggle and compromise knocks the sharper edges off any delusions of grandeur. It results in more rounded people or people who are more ‘open.’

Before I philosophise too much on the differences in the psychological and political composition of the people, much of the behavioural differences might be ascribed purely to the ubiquitous influence of Table Mountain. I am sure I am not the first person to point this out, but that mountain, pretty as it may be, slows everything down. It is in the way. I am getting more used to it now, but I had an instant aversion to the thing when I landed.

The first thing I really missed about Gauteng was the N3, Gillooly’s interchange and all. I yearned for a straight road. There are no straight roads in Cape Town. You either have to go around the mountain, alongside the mountain or leopard-crawl over it. It takes forever. The last time a straight line was travelled in Cape Town was when van Riebeeck came here in his ships. I am sure he looked at the lofty land mass and thought: “Oh god, I can’t deal. I am just going to sit right here and haak vas for a while.” Capetonians have been doing it ever since. A large part of the cliquey nature of the locals is simply because it is an effort to drive.

What’s the problem?
In Joburg, you would think nothing of driving the 60km to Pretoria to visit a friend or even commute it to work every day. What’s the problem? You get on the N1 and put foot. Here, it is hard labour to get to the next suburb. You can’t do anything fast as you will ram into a traffic circle or the foot of Lion’s Head or something. The mountain also explains the surreptitious Group Areas Act that is still going on down here. Certain people live in the flat parts, others in the basin. Then, like in all cultures, you take the bug in the design, turn it into a feature and give it cute names like “the Boerewors curtain” or “the Lentil curtain.” As one person explained in the delightful roundabout, nothing-is-a-straight-line way of Cape Town: “We don’t really care about race or class down here, but it is quite important which suburb you live in.” Nje.

It was a matter of curiosity to me that the people of Cape Town could not see how sheltered they still are from the ‘real’ South Africa, but we are all the real South Africa, obviously. People from Pretoria are a slightly different form of real compared to people from Polokwane. Cape Town is just a different version of real that I am not used to – yet. I am being exposed to something new and wonderful and gorgeous and bloody expensive and I appreciate it fully.

I bring a lot of Joburg and Germiston with me and there is a lot I treasure about it, specifically the capacity to respectfully draw back any curtain and forge connections with whomever I want, because ultimately it is up to oneself, isn’t it?

So, are Joburgers more ‘friendly?” Well, yes and no; it’s complicated, like GPS instructions on Rhodes Drive. Take a meander down the N1 and go round and round the mountain a few times and see for yourself.

Viv Vermaak is an award-winning investigative journalist, writer and director. She was the most loved and hated presenter on South Africa’s iconic travel show, “Going Nowhere Slowly’ and ranks being the tall germ, “Terie’ in Mina Moo as a career highlight. She does Jiu-Jitsu and has a ’69 Chevy Impala called Katy Peri-Peri

https://www.biznews.com/rational-perspective/2024/11/03/viv-vermaak-joburgers-friendlier-capetonians

This article was first published on the Daily Friend.