{"id":861719,"date":"2026-05-31T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=861719"},"modified":"2026-06-01T08:55:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T06:55:16","slug":"how-much-is-costs-to-live-in-the-small-town-voted-as-the-best-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/property\/861719\/how-much-is-costs-to-live-in-the-small-town-voted-as-the-best-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"How much it costs to live in the small town voted as the best in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It will cost you roughly just under R30,000 a month to live in Barrydale in the Western Cape, which has been voted as South Africa\u2019s best small town to live in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2025, the Daily Maverick crowned the town its Small Town of the Year<\/a> after it achieved an impressive score of 94%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A total of 2,069 nominations were submitted to nine writers who researched the towns and narrowed them down to a final provincial winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Towns were evaluated across seven categories. These included cleanliness, municipal performance, community spirit, safety, natural environment, family friendliness and connectivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the publication stressed that a defining element known as the \u201cM-Factor\u201d\u2014described as the intangible energy that shapes a town\u2019s character\u2014played a decisive role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final stage required writers to visit each shortlisted town personally and compare their experiences before agreeing on the national winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barrydale lies on the border between the Overberg and Klein Karoo regions and sits at the northern entrance of the Tradouw Pass leading toward Swellendam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The town was named after 19th-century merchant Joseph Barry and traces its origins back to early 18th-century farmers who settled in the fertile valley in search of reliable water and farmable land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early residents established a school and formally built a church in 1878 at the junction of two regional roads. Agriculture was a major part of the area\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farmers planted vineyards and orchards, which eventually led to the formation of the Barrydale Ko\u00f6peratiewe Wynkelder in 1940.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This later led to the establishment of a distillery that anchored the town\u2019s wine and brandy industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local production later gained global recognition when Joseph Barry Brandy was named the world\u2019s best brandy in 2003.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, the village expanded steadily, becoming a municipality in 1921 and growing into a close-knit community of roughly 4,200 permanent residents today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much it costs to live in Barrydale <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Despite its small size, its popularity has surged as South Africans increasingly seek quieter lifestyles outside major cities like Cape Town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jaco Badenhorst, sales manager for Seeff Country and Karoo, told BusinessTech that the ranking reflects a broader semigration trend drawing buyers away from urban centres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLocated under three hours from Cape Town on the popular Route 62, in the beautiful Cape Overberg on the edge of the Klein Karoo, Barrydale is a popular stopover and somewhat of a semigration hotspot,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is particularly scenic and safe with good local governance and services, characterised by rolling farmlands and the dramatic Langeberg Mountains,\u201d Badenhorst added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said that remote workers, retirees and young families are increasingly moving in search of a slower pace of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The property market is dominated by freehold homes averaging around R2.5 million, with larger houses suited to guesthouse conversions reaching about R3.4 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entry-level buyers can still find vacant plots or smaller cottages closer to R1.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Val Anderton and Marinda Roux, agents with Seeff Swellendam, explained that they have seen an increase in enquiries from Gauteng and Pretoria.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of these are young families looking to relocate due to the excellent schools and a wholesome environment for raising children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost to live in Barrydale, using the average cost of R2.5 million, at the latest prime rate of 10.5% over a 20-year bond with no deposit, works out to roughly R24,960 a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geographically, while Barrydale sits nestled at the foot of the Langeberg mountain range, it is administratively managed by the neighbouring Swellendam Local Municipality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a R2.5 million residential property in Barrydale, under the jurisdiction of the Swellendam Local Municipality, the estimated total monthly municipal bill is R4,952.92.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This comprehensive calculation applies to the approved financial year tariff framework for Swellendam Local Municipality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It incorporates standard monthly resource consumption (600 kWh of electricity and 15 kL of water), localised service access charges, and the correct statutory property rate-in-the-rand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that, on average, it would cost roughly R29,913 per month to live in the small South African town voted the best place to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Service Component<\/th>Total monthly cost (incl. VAT)<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Home Loan (over 20 years)<\/td>R24,960.00<\/td><\/tr>
Property Tax (Rates)<\/td>R1,927.95<\/td><\/tr>
Electricity (600 kWh + Fixed Fee)<\/td>R2,024.00<\/td><\/tr>
Water (15 kL + Fixed Fee)<\/td>R397.89<\/td><\/tr>
Sanitation<\/td>R321.33<\/td><\/tr>
Refuse Removal (Standard)<\/td>R281.75<\/td><\/tr>
Estimated Total Monthly Bill<\/strong><\/td>R29,912.92<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Barrydale in photos<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BusinessTech calculated the average cost of bond repayment, including rates and taxes, to determine how much it would cost to live in the best small town in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":851499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12755],"tags":[24800,25187,3024],"class_list":["post-861719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property","tag-barrydale","tag-small-town-of-the-year","tag-western-cape"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861719"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861719\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":862058,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861719\/revisions\/862058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}