Some weeks, the UK feels manageable.
And then there are weeks when the thought sneaks in: “I could just pack my bags.”

If that’s been hovering around for you lately, you’re not alone. Homesickness doesn’t always arrive loudly — often it’s just a quiet ache, especially when life feels full but something still feels missing.

This week, we wanted to sit with that feeling rather than rush past it. To talk gently about what helps ease it — not by pretending it away, but by giving it somewhere safe to land.

One of the things we’ve heard again and again is how much difference simple human connection can make. That’s why we’ve quietly launched our Friend Finder — a low-pressure way to connect with one or two other Saffas nearby, for a coffee, a walk, or a proper chat with someone who just gets it.

Nothing overwhelming. Just small ways to feel a little less alone.

We’re really glad you’re here.

If you grew up anywhere near the Garden Route, you’ll know that sound.

That sudden, raspy kow-kow-kow cutting through the morning quiet — the kind that makes you stop mid-step and look up, even if you’ve heard it a hundred times before.

For a long time, spotting a Knysna loerie felt like luck. A flash between branches. A suggestion of movement. And then, if you were really fortunate, that moment where the bird lifts and the forest seems to catch fire — a split-second blaze of deep crimson hidden beneath impossible green.

After the fires of 2017, there were real fears that this would become a memory rather than a living sight. Ancient forest broken into fragments. Habitats shrinking. The quiet worry that something precious was slipping away.

But this story didn’t end the way many do.

Through protected green corridors and years of patient work in the Garden Route National Park, the loerie adapted. It learned new rhythms. It followed indigenous fruiting trees into gardens where invasive plants had been cleared. It stayed.

Today, that flash of red still appears — sometimes closer to homes than forests — a reminder that resilience doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it moves quietly, branch by branch, finding space where space is offered.

From far away, stories like this matter. They remind us that home isn’t static. It’s alive. Still breathing. Still finding ways to carry beauty forward.

For a moment, the world feels steadier.

Most South Africans move to the UK and bring their work ethic, but they also bring a habit of "just getting on with it." We’re used to systems that don't work, so we don't bother looking for help.

In the UK, that habit is costing you thousands of pounds a year.

There are billions in unclaimed benefits, energy credits, and tax discounts sitting in UK government accounts simply because nobody "advertises" them. We call this the Saffa Tax—the money you lose because nobody gave you the manual for British bureaucracy.

We’ve done the numbers. Access to the Vault costs less than a single flat white a month. In return, you get the "Insider Playbook" that is currently saving our members:

Example: If you use just one tip—like the NHS Prescription Prepayment—you’ve already saved more than the cost of a 1-year subscription. Every other tip after that is pure profit in your pocket.

Stop guessing. Start winning.

Don't just survive the UK—master it. Join the hundreds of Saffas who have already stopped overpaying and started building a better life here.

Join for less than £5/month. Cancel anytime.

We promised last week to share two genuinely helpful ideas — nothing overwhelming, nothing life-overhauling. These are the ones that keep coming up.

Apps like Olio and Too Good To Go help reduce food waste while saving money. Used lightly, they can take the edge off the grocery shop — especially in tight months — without changing how you live.

Some people are quietly topping up income through paid research interviews — short, remote sessions that pay well when they land. It’s not guaranteed, but it’s one of the few options that doesn’t eat entire weekends.

If this landed at the right moment for you, there’s probably someone else it would help too.

Maybe it’s a Saffa who still does the rand-to-pound maths at the till.
Or someone quietly overpaying on bills because they don’t know there’s another way.

We don’t have big backing or clever growth tricks. This newsletter only grows when one person thinks of another and says, “Hey — this might help.”

No pressure. No obligation.
Just a small kindness that could save someone money, stress, or a bit of headspace this winter.

Even if you’re not a die-hard rugby person, the Six Nations has a comforting rhythm to it.

A warm pub.
A cheap meal deal.
People watching something together, without needing to talk much.

For many Saffas, it becomes an excuse to sit somewhere cosy, feel part of a crowd, and let the week loosen its grip. You don’t have to know all the players. You don’t have to care who wins.

Sometimes belonging is just being warm, fed, and not alone for an hour or two.

Pancake Day lands in mid-February, and the UK takes it more seriously than you might expect — races, flipping contests, and a lot of slightly chaotic joy.

It’s not really about the pancakes. It’s about having a reason to pause the week and do something playful without planning ahead or spending money.

For homesick hearts, these small borrowed traditions matter. They don’t replace home — but they give the calendar a pulse again.

Late February has a particular feeling in the UK.

The days are stretching out a little.
The worst of winter starts loosening its grip.
And suddenly, there are things to look forward to again.

Here are a few that feel especially gentle and grounding right now.

London & Newcastle | 21–22 February

Chinatown fills with colour. Lion dances move through the streets. Trafalgar Square hums with music and food stalls.

Even if you don’t stay long, there’s something heartening about being around celebration — warmth, families, shared joy — especially after a long winter stretch.

If you’re nearby, it’s worth a wander.

Leicester | Until 22 February

This one’s quietly brilliant.

Hundreds of shows, big names mixed with new voices, and venues small enough to feel human rather than flashy.

Comedy here isn’t about spectacle. It’s about sitting in a room together and laughing at things that feel oddly familiar. If you’ve needed release more than distraction, this is a good place to find it.

Yorkshire Dales & North York Moors | 13 Feb – 1 March

There’s something steadying about looking up.

This festival celebrates darkness — real darkness — with stargazing events, night walks, and quiet moments under big skies.

If the UK has felt cramped lately, this is the opposite.

From April 2026, measures announced in the Autumn Budget (including changes to energy levies like ECO and RO) are expected to reduce average household energy bills by around £150 a year.

It’s not cash in hand.
But it is a date.

And sometimes having a date helps the nervous system relax a little.

Next week, we’re going to gently tackle something many Saffas find quietly overwhelming: UK healthcare and bureaucracy.

Not because the NHS is “bad” — but because it works very differently to what most of us grew up with, and almost nobody explains how to use it properly.

We’ll walk through what to expect, where to start, and how to advocate for yourself calmly when the system feels confusing.

When you think about it, this newsletter has always been about connection.

Not just to tips or systems or life in the UK — but to people. To familiar voices. To that feeling of “oh good, someone gets it.”

That’s why we’re introducing Friend Finder.

It’s a gentle, pressure-free way for Saffas to find other Saffas nearby — for coffee, walks, families, food, sport, gym buddies, or simply a proper conversation.

Nothing forced. Nothing public. Just connection, at your own pace.

If your heart still aches for home, we want you to know this first: there’s nothing wrong with you.

In our experience, homesickness isn’t a sign you made the wrong decision. It’s usually a sign that you loved deeply — people, places, rhythms, a way of life. Leaving doesn’t erase that. It just changes how it shows up.

What we’ve learned — and what many other Saffas have shared with us — is that it helps not to silence the feeling, but to give it somewhere safe to land.

A few things that tend to help, gently, over time:

We don’t believe you have to choose between South Africa and the UK in your heart. There’s room for both.

And if this week has felt heavier than usual, that doesn’t mean you’re going backwards. It just means you’re human — and you’re not alone in this.

We’re really glad you’re here.
Troy & Sarah