How we found a place to livefor two months in Cape Town

After the two-week holiday one friend flew home, and the two of us stayed to live in Cape Town for another two months, from 7 February to 4 April 2026. Here is how we looked for a place, where we ended up living and what I now know about renting in Cape Town.

In short

Why we stayed

We love to spend winter somewhere warm, and we’d wanted to come to Cape Town for a long time. We work remotely, and the time zone is very convenient here: South Africa (UTC+2) is only an hour behind Moscow.

We usually worked from 10 a.m., and in the evening could go somewhere. But we mostly got out at weekends, the stories about that are in the other articles about life in Cape Town.

How we searched

Finding a place was very hard. Our limit was 100,000 roubles a month for the two of us, on booking sites that comes to about 1,000 dollars or euros. In Green Point, where we stayed on holiday, you can’t find anything for that money.

It’s high season: good options in safe neighbourhoods get snapped up fast. It’s better to book several months ahead. We booked about a month ahead, and there was hardly anything to choose from. The apartment in Mowbray where we lived the second month was very good, but it was already taken for the first month.

If you can, budget more: about €800 per person per month. Then there will be far more options in safe neighbourhoods.

Where to look

• Booking and Airbnb: the main ones.
• Facebook: lots of listings, but often in neighbourhoods where I wouldn’t go to live. More about that below.
• Estate agents: completely useless. I explained that I wanted to book online in advance and could pay after a video call. They’d set up a meeting and not show up, or simply vanish. Later I read that it’s hard with agents even when you’re already there.

The villa in Woodstock we almost fell for

On Facebook there are loads of options in Woodstock, Salt River and similar neighbourhoods, and they look great. We almost rented a room in a huge villa for nomads in Woodstock: separate bedrooms, a big coworking space, a pool table, a rooftop pool, and all of that for up to €1,000 for the two of us.

We reasoned like this: we’d take taxis from door to door and never go out. And then we googled the reviews. People on Reddit wrote that houses get broken into in Woodstock and people are robbed right at home, and many move away. We dropped the idea.

It’s a little sad: I really liked Woodstock itself, I love creative neighbourhoods. But I wouldn’t live there. More about Cape Town’s neighbourhoods is in the preparation article.

The first month: Claremont

From 8 February to 8 March we lived in Claremont: $1,178 a month for the two of us.

It was part of a house where the landlady lives. The house is divided: the gate is shared, but the entrances are on different sides, so we hardly crossed paths. We had a bedroom, a living room with a table where we both worked, a small kitchen and a big bathroom: with both a shower and a bath. And in the courtyard there was a pool and a great terrace with a garden, flowers and even a palm tree.

Once the landlady treated us to sweets: she’d been given them for her birthday and doesn’t eat them. We thought fast, went to the shop and gave her a bouquet.

There were downsides too:

• The internet was very bad, everything lagged. The landlady and I restarted the router together, but it didn’t help, and I tethered from my phone. Remote workers will understand.
• Sound carries well. We agreed with the landlady that she’d turn the TV down a bit. It took a little getting used to.
• Two dogs in the house. We were both a bit afraid of them, and in places it was uncomfortable.
• No washing machine. The landlady offered hers in case we needed it, but we decided it was simpler to send our things to a laundry.

We didn’t really have a choice: everything else was taken or in unsafe neighbourhoods.

The second month: Mowbray

From 8 March to 5 April we lived in Mowbray: $998 a month for the two of us. And here things were better.

This is also part of a house, and all its parts are rented out: mostly students live there. We had two floors, which divided the spaces nicely. Downstairs: a lounge area, a table and a big kitchen, even with an air fryer.

The landlord is very polite and talkative, and we chatted from time to time. He left us a bottle of wine and sometimes brought beer. When the heat began, we asked for fans and he quickly brought them. The internet was good. All in all, it was great.

Good to know

• There’s almost no air conditioning anywhere. There was none in the apartment in Green Point, nor in Claremont, nor in Mowbray, even though you pay about $1,000 a month. Usually that’s not a problem, but for about a week it was +35 °C, and then you can’t do without fans.
• A laundry: if there’s no washing machine. By our count, a wash came to about 165–190 rand (≈ $10–12) for the two of us each time.
• Check that your bookings line up. We hadn’t accounted for one day when booking and had to pay extra for a night: 550 rand (≈ $34) for the two of us.
• On foot, only in the daytime. In our neighbourhoods we went to the shop, on errands and to the laundry calmly, both by day and in the evening. Walking at night isn’t advisable anywhere in Cape Town.

Food

A special mention for what makes life in Cape Town pleasant: the food here is very good, both in shops and in restaurants. Every time we set out to eat somewhere, it was a small joy. For some reason that’s not the case everywhere.