Cape Town CBD resident and project manager Paul Juries said living in town was “perfect”.
“The quality of life is better, you rest more because you can sleep later – you don’t have to wake up earlier to get to the city.”
Paul grew up in George where he finished school before going to study law at the University of the Western Cape.
“Law was always the plan because I wanted to be a practising attorney but that didn’t work out, partially because of finances and also because I lost drive. I was floating around on campus until I eventually packed up and left.”
He then started working for his uncle, who was an accountant, doing administration and running the office. One of his uncle’s clients was a plumbing business, and Paul started working there, managing offices and sites. This is when he did a project management course.
“The idea was that if I could do this for the plumbing company, I could do it for other companies too.”
Paul then started his project management company, Ubukhulu Management Services, in 2016, managing building projects for mainly for plumbers and electricians.
After meeting his girlfriend, Paul moved to Goodwood to be closer to the city, but the commute to town was problematic for him.
“We were also in house share, so then we started looking for something closer to the CBD, and moved to Parliament Street.”
Paul now works from home, and if it gets too crowded, he uses a shared working space in Wale Street when he is not out of town on sites.
“The city centre is perfect – I’m always driving against the traffic when I need to go out to sites, and when I come back to the CBD.
“It’s also very central, so I’m close to everything. When I’m hungry and don’t feel like cooking, I can pop out to a restaurant, or I can go to Long or Loop streets if I feel like some entertainment. All the things I need for my business is also here.”
He said the biggest convenience is that he doesn’t have to use his car.
“I can walk everywhere, so we save on petrol. We walk around often, even at night, and it’s been relatively safe so far.”
However, when he has to drive out, he says parking in town is a headache.
“You have to circle all the time, and the rates are expensive.”
Paul says he and his partner plan to live in the city for a long time to come.
“I can work from anywhere, but it’s the most convenient from the CBD. My partner also works in the city, so it’s best for us to be near to everything.
“In the part of town where we live, it’s relatively quiet. You get used to the buzz of the city, but we are nowhere near the busiest part of town – it’s living in the city, but not near the hustle and bustle. You get the occasional odd character that walks around, but nothing that’s too out of hand. It’s perfect here.”