21/10/2026
🇬🇧🇿🇦 MY BIGGEST CULTURE SHOCK IN LONDON? PEOPLE LIVE WITHOUT HIGH WALLS, ELECTRIC FENCES AND BURGLAR BARS! 😳🏡
When I travelled to London, United Kingdom, I experienced a culture shock that genuinely made me question what we have normalised back home in South Africa. 🇿🇦❤️
I was walking around London, admiring the beautiful streets, charming houses and neighbourhoods, when something suddenly caught my attention.
WHERE ARE THE FENCES? 😳😂
Where are the high boundary walls? The electric fences? The burglar bars on the windows? The security gates? The razor wire?
And most importantly, HOW ARE THESE PEOPLE JUST LIVING LIKE THIS?! 😭🤣
As a South African, I am so accustomed to seeing homes surrounded by high walls, locked gates, burglar doors, alarm systems and electric fences that seeing houses opening directly onto the street felt almost unbelievable!
Back home, we have security gates protecting our doors, burglar bars protecting our windows, walls protecting our properties and sometimes electric fences protecting the walls! 😭
We have practically turned our homes into miniature fortresses just to feel safe.
Yet in the parts of London I visited, people seemed to live so differently.
🏡 Houses with little or no front fencing.
🚪 Front doors opening directly onto the pavement.
🪟 Windows without the burglar bars we are so used to.
🌳 Beautiful residential streets where homes felt connected to the neighbourhood rather than hidden behind enormous walls.
I remember thinking, "Yoh! So people actually live like this?" 😭😂
Of course, London has crime too, and not every neighbourhood or house is the same. But the contrast with the security measures we commonly see in South African suburbs was impossible for me to ignore.
🇿🇦 AND THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA…
We live in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, blessed with incredible landscapes, wonderful weather, vibrant cultures and beautiful homes.
But how often do we stop to think about how much of our everyday lives revolves around security?
We lock our doors. We secure our windows. We install alarms. We build higher walls.
And many of us have become so accustomed to these precautions that we hardly question them anymore.
🌍 TRAVELLING DOES MORE THAN SHOW YOU BEAUTIFUL PLACES. IT CHANGES HOW YOU SEE YOUR OWN COUNTRY.
My visit to London reminded me that things we consider completely normal in one country can be surprising in another.
It made me wonder what life in South Africa would look like if more families could feel comfortable living without so many physical security barriers.
Imagine neighbourhoods where homes could have open front gardens, lower walls and a greater sense of connection to the streets around them.
What a beautiful possibility that would be. ❤️
😂 BECAUSE TELL ME WHY, AS A SOUTH AFRICAN, I WAS LOOKING AT THOSE HOUSES THINKING, "BUT WHAT IS STOPPING SOMEONE FROM JUST WALKING IN?"
Clearly, my South African security instincts travelled all the way to London with me! 😭🤣🇿🇦
💬 SOUTH AFRICANS, LET'S TALK!
Have you ever travelled overseas and been shocked to see houses without burglar bars, electric fences or high boundary walls?
Would you feel comfortable living in a house without a security gate or burglar bars in South Africa?
And for those living in London or elsewhere in the UK, is this something you even think about?
👇 I would genuinely love to hear your experiences!
Follow Kgomotso Travels as I share my international travel experiences, cultural discoveries, South African perspectives and the fascinating differences between life at home and abroad! 🌍✈️❤️
