“Is It Safe Where You Live?”: American Expat Compares Safety in SA and Las Vegas

• Kourtney Jade, an American expat, has been living in South Africa for three years with her husband and two kids
• She compared crime in South Africa to her home city of Las Vegas, Nevada, raising a question that stopped many viewers cold
• South Africans and fellow expats flooded the comments with their own take on safety in the country

Kourtney Jade, an American mother of two, has been living in South Africa for three years. She posted a candid video on Facebook on 13 October 2026, tackling the one question every American asks her before considering a move to the country. She said:

"Is it safe?"

She turned the question back on her viewers.

"Is it safe where you live currently?"

Jade moved to South Africa with her husband and children without knowing a single person in the country. In the video, she explained that South Africa's crime often appears more alarming to outsiders because negative events here tend to make international headlines, while similar incidents in the United States frequently go unnoticed.

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Comparing South Africa to Las Vegas

To make her point, she drew a direct comparison between her current home in South Africa and Las Vegas, Nevada, where she previously lived. In the three years she has spent in South Africa, she said there had been no school shootings in her area. In Las Vegas during the same period, she said there had been multiple.

Her view was not that South Africa is without risk, but that context matters. She acknowledged that rougher neighbourhoods carry higher risks, adding that this is true of virtually every country in the world.

View the Facebook video below:

Mzansi reacts to the American expat's take

South Africans and followers in the comments section of her page had plenty to say about her post:

@Odwa Koyi said:

"Thank you Nobuhle 🥰🥰🥰"

@Miriam Isaacs shared:

"It's safe where I live. We've had one incident in the past 6 years."

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@Matome Paul Rasebotsa wrote:

"I was worried that are you aware of dangerous places here in my country South Africa? For you saying this, I'm now relaxed. Stay…"

@Theodore Hempe added:

"Thank you Kourtney. Sometimes I just get too frustrated to always explain to foreigners and people that wana visit here that…"

@Sky Magolego noted:

"African water is working wonders on your skin 👌👌👌"

@Anita MamXesibe Sodladla said:

"Depends on the area my dear 🫠 In SA if you have the means to afford a certain area then you are safe and secured 😊"

@Pete-Josephine Puleio asked:

"How are the riots in Durban??"

More Briefly News stories on expats

• A UK expat living in Zimbabwe responded to backlash over her gym hygiene video, saying race played no part, while Zimbabweans debated her comments.
• The United States now requires journalists applying for visas to make all social media profiles public, while tourists must only list their handles.
• An American expat currently living in Cape Town was stunned to find a feather in her Woolworths egg carton, and South Africans had plenty to say about it.

Source: Briefly News