Money issues in Africa..?
 

For you guys living/working in Africa, what are my options as far as getting cash while there? For example, if I decide to move up to say a Caravan I'd like to pay for my own rating to nix being bonded to the company. I'd hate to be carrying around that large a sum of cash on me for however many months I'm there...but I highly doubt there's an ATM on every corner... If it matters, I'm planning my job hunt in Swakopmund or Windhoek.

Yes, yes, I know. I hate to be a typical naive westerner, but I really don't know how the system works. Is it as simple as getting a bank transfer from my US bank?

Africa. Mun dat be wun big place wid lots of people and neary 50 countries wid people dat live in de jungle in de mud huts and eatin each other. Send de smoke signals and swing on de trees to get around de place. We don't have de munny, we do de trade wid beads and coconuts.

Funny as it may sound, even the most bckward countries in Africa have banks and ATMS and monetary systems. Whilst you won't exactly find an ATM at the bottom of every tree, nor on every street corner, Namibia is one of the more advanced ones, it used to be a German colony and then was administered by South Africa. It has an advanced and well regulated banking system. In fact they're a lot more used to dealing in forex than banks in the US, based on my miserable experiences when I worked in the US where the only foreign currency they'd heard of was Mexican Pesos and Canadian Dollars, and that was only within about 10 miles of the respective borders.

Oh yes, and they have their currency too, it's the Nambian Dollar and it worth the same as the South African Rand.

Tableview is right..Windhoek is still very Germanic.... ergo everything works :ok:

Best of luck

Pocket full of Dollars
 

My advice is not to be carrying any cash around with you. A far better idea is to get hold of me and let me look after it for you until you need it - I have a few very trustworthy Nigerian Banking friends that will help secure your investment...... :E

Well, you're hardly going to get enough cash for a caravan rating from an ATM anywhere in the world are you? Unless its a toy, or one of those mobile roadblock things you find attached to old Volvos.

Tableview...that was funny haha.

I know it's a large place, hence me stating where I was going! And I realize it's not the typical image that westerners have, so I guess my question was more about how banks themselves work. I'm young, never had to deal with this before! I didn't know if any ole bank could receive a transfer from another country or if there was something special to be done, and if they would exchange it for local currency. Yes, that sounds silly now that I'm saying it... haha

Either way, thanks, smart-ass comments and all (wouldn't have it any other way!)

I'm glad you took it in the spirit in which it was intended!

Cheers, and enjoy!