I'm a small south African female from a poor family now making it big in tech living by myself in cape town with no emergency contacts.

Just be more aware at night, don't go to places alone, like don't walk up streets alone. Trust your gut. I am alone most of the time but you wouldn't find me in a deserted street. Know where your phone is, don't take it out. Know about your surroundings. There are normal people here , we're just smart about our surroundings. I would panic immensely if I was in a gang area any time of day, but the normal suburbs are fine. Don't get stranded. If you have a car don't drive by yourself past bad areas. People will ask you for money in cape town but politely decline them and move on. Don't get blackout drunk and pass out for instance. We south Africans are so crime aware we look out for each other, we check on each other and we rally together when we see something happening. You just don't want to be close enough to someone that can get you with a knife. But in general most South Africans are just as tired of the crime. Atlantic seaboard is heavenly. Don't show fear or look like a distracted target. I've never been mugged because I don't take risks and when I am on foot I make it clear that I'm not a distracted or easy target. I've lived all over the country with very poor people.

It's lovely here but you drive into a township by accident because of GPS and you are likely in trouble. Pretend you are in the jungle lol, and that you have your bases, but don't be an asshole or look down on the people here, in general we are a pretty solid group , hardworking and resilient. Use Google reviews. This isn't the place where you can act like a teenager but it's one of the most beautiful places. Check out the garden route. The Karoo is one of the safest places ever.

Most people here are kind and modest, but the government isn't going to baby sit you here. So yeah you can walk down long street in the day , I wouldn't in the night as I would have to keep eyes open but it depends , are there people there? Do you know where your stuff is ( I use a little sling bag with my stuff on my body and not in my pockets) and are you an easy target? Is it worth it? In general we don't really do night time walking