“Rent Is Not Cheap”: South Africans Divided by Man’s List of Alleged Cheapest Cities To Live In
- South African content creator Jandre de Beer shared a list of the alleged cheapest cities in the country
- The man named five cities, expanding on the average cost of rent, transportation, food, and utilities
- The list surprised some social media users, who thought that what they had heard wasn't necessarily what they had experienced in the city
Source: Instagram
A local content creator, Jandre de Beer, shared the top five cities that are allegedly the cheapest to live in South Africa. However, the list caused a division among many social media users.
Jandre posted his video on 1 November, 2025. He started in descending order, placing East London in fifth position, noting that the slower-paced city's rent starts at R6 000, with food, transport, and other utilities reportedly costing R7 000. At number four, Kimberley made the list. Jandre stated that one can rent a one-bedroom apartment for approximately R4 500, and have a budget of R10 000 for groceries, transport, and bills.
Next on the list is Polokwane, where people allegedly only spend 9% of their salary on rent, one of the lowest in the country.
"A two-bedroom costs between R5 000 and R10 000, plus you need about R7 000 for everything else."
PAY ATTENTION: Briefly News is now on YouTube! Check out our interviews on Briefly TV Life now!
The second-cheapest city is Welkom, where food, transport, and utilities reportedly cost roughly R10 000, and rent is affordable. Jandre claimed that rent starts at R5 200, food costs about R3 000, a restaurant meal costs R200, and R17 for a loaf of bread. Finally, Jandre told South Africans that Bloemfontein is the cheapest city to live in.
Source: Getty Images
South Africans react to the cheapest cities to live in
Several members of the online community were eager to express their opinions on the list. Some people agreed with what they saw on their screens, while others were open and honest about the reputations.
@alidapunkhead shared their assumptions with the public:
"This can't be right because I know for sure property prices are cheaper in Gqeberha than in East London."
@gomolemo_enzo jokingly stated:
"Bloemfontein? There's no city here, brother, just potholes."
@ag.nee.man wrote in the comment section:
"Time to find remote work and move to Bloemfontein. In a few months, I'll be living like a king and drive a brand new bakkie and be a part of the laarnies."
@janinevdw17 gave their opinion of one of the cities, writing:
"Welkom? Nope. Rent is not cheap. I just spent the whole of last week looking for an affordable house to rent. Could not find one. Staying in Kroonstad."
@bigtrouble44 added under the post:
"I would say Polokwane 1, Welkom 2, Kimberley 3, East London 4, and Bloemfontein 5."
@mephobiac10367561 told the online community:
"Cheapness is relative to the quality of jobs in the area. It doesn't help that it's cheap if I have to take a massive pay cut to stay there."
Watch the TikTok video posted on Jandre's account below:
3 Stories on people from South African cities
- In another article, Briefly News reported that at the beginning of the year, the Hawks arrested a woman from East London who allegedly faked her kidnapping to extort money from her family.
- A Polokwane woman shared that she flew to Ghana to get her hair done with a specific colour mix. South Africans were divided, with some people saying she could have gotten the same hairstyle done in cities in Gauteng.
- South African socialite Shauwn Mkhize had to apologise to Bloemfontein Celtics fans after it was announced that she had bought another football club based in eSwatini. She also asked for forgiveness for changing the team's name.
Source: Briefly News
