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JOHANNESBURG
South African Relocation Concierge

Relocating to Johannesburg with your family

I am Hannah Pirnie and I help international families relocate to Johannesburg: which suburb, which school, where it is safe to live and what to do in what order. I moved here with my own family 16 years ago with no roadmap and no one to ask, and I have been guiding other families through the same move ever since. Tell me about your move using the form below and I will reply personally within 24 hours.

Tell me about your move
What happens after you send this
  1. 01I read it. Not an assistant, not a bot. Me.
  2. 02You hear back within 24 hours. A personal reply, not a brochure and not an autoresponder.
  3. 03I tell you the truth about whether I am the right person for your move. If I am, I will set out exactly how we would work together and what it costs. If I am not, I will say so and point you at someone better.

About two minutes. Nothing here is a test.

Everything below helps me give you a useful answer rather than a general one. If you do not know something yet, say so or leave it blank.

Your move

There is no wrong answer. It just tells me where to start.

Please tell me where you are in the move

Your best guess is fine.

Please choose a month, or select "Not sure yet"
Who is moving
Please select

Ages are enough. Leave blank if none.

Breed and size, if they are coming with you. It changes which houses work.

What you need

Tick as many as apply. Most families tick four or five.

Please tick at least one
How to reach you
Please enter your name

This is where I reply.

Please enter a valid email address

Include your country code. WhatsApp beats email across time zones.

Genuinely useful to me, so please do not skip it.

Please let me know how you found me

I reply personally within 24 hours. Nothing automated, and nothing shared with anyone else.

That did not send. Something on my end went wrong, and I would rather tell you than pretend otherwise. Please email me directly at hannah@homejoburg.com or WhatsApp +27 73 429 7485 and I will pick it up straight away.
✓

That is with me.

I read every one of these myself, and you will hear back from me within 24 hours.

If it is urgent, WhatsApp me on +27 73 429 7485 and say you have just sent the form.

Hannah

What I help families with

Tick whichever of these apply on the form and I will start there.

  • Suburbs. Which ones actually suit your family, your commute and your budget, rather than the three everyone names on Facebook.
  • Schools. Which schools, which stage, and when the application windows genuinely close as opposed to when the website says they do.
  • Housing. Rent or buy first, what a realistic budget looks like in rand, and how the off-market market works here.
  • Safety. What a sensible security setup looks like for the way your family lives, and what it costs to run.
  • Visas and admin. I do not give immigration, tax or legal advice. I introduce you to the people who do, and I have used all of them.
  • Domestic staff. Hiring, contracts, UIF registration and paying a living wage rather than a minimum one.
  • Cars and driving. Buying, insuring, and the honest version of what driving here is like.
  • Healthcare and medical aid.

Who this is for

Who this is for

Families relocating to Johannesburg at any stage, from the week the assignment was mentioned to the week before you land. Corporate assignees and their partners. Families with school-age children. Anyone arriving without a network here.

The partner who did not get the job offer, especially. You are the one making 40 decisions a week about a city you have never lived in, usually while the other one is already at their desk. That is who I built this for.

Who this is not for

I take a small number of families at a time, which means I am not the right fit for everyone. If what you want is a property portal to browse, there are free ones.

What I offer is one person who has made this exact move, knows the northern suburbs from the inside and will tell you the truth even when it is not what you were hoping to hear.

Who I am

I moved to Johannesburg with my husband’s job, for an adventure. He was in the office day two. No local network, no idea which suburb was safe, no sense of who to trust. The relocation company handled the logistics. Nobody handled me.

I built this because nobody like me existed when I needed it. Not an agency and not a logistics firm. A person.

Sixteen years on I still live here, I still find new corners of the city, and I now do this properly rather than informally over coffee. I am a registered Property Practitioner with eXp Realty South Africa, so when your relocation turns into a property search I can take you all the way through it. I also make New in Town, the podcast for people arriving in Johannesburg.

“I looked at over 30 houses before we discovered Hannah. She showed us just one, and I knew from the moment we walked through the door it was the home for us.”

Relocation client

“From the moment I reached out, she was so responsive. Previously I had left 101 messages with various agents and it all got very confusing. It’s lovely to have just one person who can take us across a variety of suburbs and coordinate it all for us.”

Leanne Smit, Standard Bank

Common questions

What does Home Joburg actually do?
Home Joburg is a relocation concierge for international families moving to Johannesburg, run by Hannah Pirnie. It covers suburbs, schools, housing, safety, domestic staff, cars and healthcare, from the first planning conversation through to settling in. Hannah is also a registered Property Practitioner with eXp Realty South Africa, so a relocation can carry through into a property search with the same person.
What happens after I send the enquiry form?
Hannah reads every enquiry personally and replies within 24 hours. If she is the right fit for your move she will set out how you would work together and what it costs. If she is not, she will say so and point you elsewhere.
Do you help with visas, tax or immigration?
No. Home Joburg does not give immigration, tax or legal advice. Hannah introduces families to the specialists she uses herself and briefs them on your situation first.
How far ahead of my move should I get in touch?
Anywhere from 12 months out to the week before you land. Earlier is better, because more of the decisions are still open, but families arriving within weeks are worked with regularly.
Where in Johannesburg do you work?
Primarily the northern suburbs, including Parkhurst, Parkwood, Hyde Park, Westcliff, Dainfern, Steyn City and Waterfall.

Tell me about your move.

Where you are going, when you land, and what is worrying you most. I will take it from there.

Start here
Last updated 29 July 2026