Cost of living in Mauritius in relation to south africa

Hi,

I lived West Coast of Mauritius for 4 years (recently returned to RSA) with family of 2 kids ages 13&14.

I find RSA quite expensive by comparison after two months returned here.

Private schools (like Reddam, Crawford) are more than double the cost of West Coast International Primary/Secondary, although West Coast is probably cheaper than Bocage or Northfields (the other two english medium international schools).  Schools also a bit different to SA - French instead of Afrikaans, follow IGCSE or IB programmes and sports are generally extra curricular/outside school. Teacher quality can be hit and miss - driven by economics of each school.

Supermarket choice can be pretty slim in Mauritius and the costs would be marginally higher than in SA! At times you may not be able to get what you want when you want! Some good shopping malls eg La Croissette, Bagatelle, Pheonix. Nice lunch & dinner restaurants reasonably priced (bring own wine and pay corkage is common) and thank goodness for Vida coffee!

Mauritius however is quite safe, clean air, clean ocean, traffic depends on your routes (can be frustrating), great outdoor life, relaxed pace and good people. It is however 5hrs or 6hrs or 12hrs away from anywhere - but then it wouldn't be so great if it was any closer!