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“I’ve always wanted to see Table Mountain in South Africa,” says Beat Jaggi. This opportunity arose in 1998 after studying law. Those who are talented in languages and love to travel wanted to improve their English skills and obtain a proficiency diploma with a three-month language stay after completing their education. “I wanted to warm up a bit – and because it was winter, I chose Cape Town, South Africa for language accommodation,” he says in an interview with Blick.
In addition to the British mandate, the young man from Bern found ample time to explore the city and country with other school graduates and immediately became enthusiastic about South Africa, especially Cape Town. «Cape Town is mostly sunny, it is a beautiful city center with wonderful beaches and lots of palm trees, good restaurants and cafes, and it also has a lot to offer culturally. The lifestyle here is simply fascinating and attractive,” says Jaggi enthusiastically. According to him, Cape Town is best comparable climatically to the Côte d’Azur in France.
Difficult long distance relationship
The Swiss met South African Byran Keulemans (50) while visiting a restaurant. “Byran was still making very little at the modeling agency back then, so she worked as a part-time waitress and served us on the weekends. That’s how we got to know each other,” says Jaggi.
Sparks quickly flashed between the two, and Jaggi extended his stay for love to six months before returning to Switzerland and finding a job in Geneva. For two years, the couple had a long-distance relationship and only saw each other five times a year. “I lived close to Geneva Airport and sometimes flew to Bryan’s for less than a week and was back at work as soon as I arrived in Switzerland,” Jaggi recalls with a laugh.
But in the long run that was not the case for the couple and so Keulemans sought to gain a foothold in Switzerland and moved to Jaggi. But getting the necessary residence and work permits was difficult for the South African with her job at a small modeling agency. With his health still in a shambles, the couple stopped exercising and decided to move to Cape Town in 2002.
Step into self-employment as a travel organizer in Africa
“For me, as a Swiss, with my language skills and education it was easier to find a job in South Africa,” says Jaggi, who has held various jobs in South Africa. He worked, among other things, as a team leader in opera and later in the call center for many years at Lufthansa, and in 2013 he started his own business in Cape Town with a friend from the travel industry. Since then he has been organizing trips to South Africa and surrounding countries.
He often travels for his guests all over South Africa, to Tanzania, Botswana or Victoria Falls, looking for suitable accommodation in different price ranges and organizing safaris and wine tastings, among other things. In addition to the many different landscapes and regions he has traveled to in Africa, he himself has always been fascinated by wildlife in the wild.
cheap oceanfront apartment
In 2010, Jaggi and Keulemans were lucky enough to purchase an old waterfront four bedroom apartment for a reasonable price and extensively renovated it while trying to preserve some of the old charm. “Here, too, prices have risen. But the flat was very cheap just because it needed renovation and was in poor condition,” explains the Swiss, who has been officially married to his partner since May 2022.
“Sometimes we see whales from the balcony and I usually swim in the sea in the morning or evening,” says Jaggi. Overall, the Swiss are particularly enjoying the outdoor life in their new home.
future plans and retirement plans
However, the Bernese remains attached to Switzerland and maintains close contact with their relatives and friends. During the summer, he and his girlfriend spend a few weeks in Switzerland. “We went to the mountains in the winter and Bryan learned to ski there. But he prefers it after skiing,” says Jaggi with a laugh.
The couple bought a small apartment in Neuchâtel three years ago to spend their holidays. Otherwise, the holiday home is often used by relatives. The apartment in Switzerland is also an investment in the future and a pension for the couple. Beat Jaggi: “We will work and live in South Africa until we retire. Then we want to travel back and forth between our countries and enjoy life.”
Source : Blick
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
