Cape Town a Magnet for Digital Creatives
17 June 2021
Digital content creator is one of the fastest-growing jobs on LinkedIn’s 2021 ‘Jobs on The Rise’ list. Unsurprisingly, a growing number of them choose to base in Cape Town.
Meet digital creatives Tebogo Pin-Pin, Naseeha Khan and Jonty Fish who all call Cape Town home.
Tebogo Pin-Pin
I am a South African Cape Town based travel planner, destination host, travel blogger, content creator and digital marketer. I was born in Free State, grew up in North West, studied in Johannesburg and now the Mother City is my home. If I am not stuck in front of my computer planning trips for guests, creating content for brands or writing travel blog posts for my blog, you will find me hosting guests or exploring small towns around Cape Town, and sharing my experiences with the entire world on my Instagram page.
What do you enjoy most about living and working in Cape Town?
It makes me feel like I am on a never-ending holiday because I am always surrounded by travellers and tourists, and there are many things one can do and see around the city and nearby towns. I also find it easier to balance work and personal life here in Cape Town. As Capetonians, we don’t chase money but lifestyle and great health.
What makes Cape Town a creative city?
We do not follow the traditional way of corporate working. The influx of Nomads contribute to making Cape Town one of the creative cities in the world. We prefer to work from coffee shops, shared office spaces, and our homes than at an office while enjoying the best surroundings and activities that the Mother City is blessed with.
How has COVID-19 impacted your work?
To be honest, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated my creativity and made more people and companies in the tourism and hospitality industry pay attention to what I have always tried to tell them. I have always encouraged the locals to travel locally and explore our beautiful country and companies to adjust their prices to cater to the local market. COVID-19 has forced companies to be creative.
Naseeha Khan
I was born in a quiet little farm town in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) where families live generation to generation with limited opportunity to “leave the nest”. One of my earliest memories was my sister and I grabbing spoons from my grandma’s kitchen drawer and digging a hole in the back yard with the hopes that it would eventually lead us to the other side of the world.
As a karate-ka, earning my black belt at a young age allowed me to travel within the country, representing my province at tournaments and thus igniting the flame to reach beyond provincial borders.
At the age of seventeen, I began to study my Bachelor of Sciences at Wits University in Johannesburg. After completing my first year, I still felt unfulfilled, and my hunger to explore the unknown led me to the decision to move abroad. I enrolled to study language in a university in the south of China and immersed myself into the new culture and lifestyle. What was meant to be just a few months studying abroad, turned out to be six years as I went on to register in medical school, graduating from Wenzhou, China in 2017 as a medical doctor.
Apart from traveling and exploring the beautiful south, I went on to work in Beijing as a kindergarten teacher and then as a primary school teacher. This is where I was introduced to the world of the digital nomad, where I managed to do work online as a transcriber and translator while having the opportunity to travel and finally feed the wanderlust even further.
I am now an editor and educational content creator in the process of registering with the medical boards.
What do you enjoy most about living and working in Cape Town?
There’s something spontaneous about living here. Even with the impulsive weather changes, a day that might have started on the couch in front of the TV may quickly turn into a day of swimming with penguins in a national park. Or a day initially planned to just be a work day may lead to an evening of building a bonfire under the starry skies. It’s the liveliness of the unknown that keeps me well-fed and especially in times like these, with the pandemic and lockdown restricting much of my routine and lifestyle, Cape Town keeps me on my toes and makes me feel alive. That’s what I enjoy the most—the spontaneity of the mother city.
Ever since I first visited Cape Town, I’ve always believed that it’s the most beautiful city in the world. After having the opportunity to travel to other countries, it became even clearer to me that it certainly is in every aspect.
Cape Town caters for everyone. Truly. It’s for the introverts and the extroverts. It’s for the nature-lovers and the shoppers. It’s for those who want to curl up with a good book, and for those who seek the thrill of paragliding into the sunset. And if like me, you’re looking for a place to be unsettled and yet still call it home, Cape Town will not disappoint.
With the breath-taking sunsets, it’s love for wildlife and nature conservation, and the diverse travel opportunities within itself and surrounding areas, Cape Town always stood out as my number one destination and soon became my go-to city. It was the place that grounded me while continuously re-igniting my passion as a wanderer.
As luck would have it, I met a local adventurer here in Cape Town that not only had the same wanderlust that I did, but was also in the medical field. With our interests aligned, sparks flew and our shared experiences led me to fall in love with both him and this city even more.
I am pleased to say that I have since married my adventure buddy, and what better place to explore this beautiful country than from the Mother City herself? How special is it, after all, to find love in your favourite city?
What inspires you to create?
The pictures, videos, and stories I share on my social media are merely little snippets of a moment captured while exploring what the mother city has to offer.
I’ve been extremely blessed to have the opportunity to work and travel, and I guess sharing my experiences and perspective is just a way of saying thank you. Thank you to those who keep the natural environment conserved and safe, to the restaurant and café owners that provide unique, delicious food, and to the local people that welcomed me with smiles and gave me a place to call home. Every single person or business that I’ve interacted with here has contributed to my experience and growth in this city, and they deserve to be recognised and promoted.
I view my content as a form of appreciation for where I am. I can only hope that sharing my adventures serves as an invitation for others to explore this beautiful city for themselves.
How has COVID-19 impacted your work?
Due to the pandemic, I’ve had to become really patient in terms of pursuing my medical career in the timeline I had originally set out for. However, my progress as an editor and educational content creator has taken a great leap forward. I’ve had more time to explore the creative side of me and in the future, I hope to be able to maintain a good balance between both my profession and the creativity that kept me sane throughout the pandemic.
One thing that became clearer though, is that no matter where my nomadic soul takes me next, I’ll always call Cape Town my home.
Jonty Fish
I am a born and bred Capetonian who loves to get out and explore nature and this beautiful city. I am currently doing my Chartered Accounting (CA) articles which takes up most of my time. While business and entrepreneurship is my main passion, I really enjoy photography as a creative outlet.
What do you enjoy most about living and working in Cape Town?
The fact that you can do a morning hike, head to the beach after and end up on a wine farm that afternoon. Everything is so close together and there are so many incredible places to see. I’ve never been one to like built up cities and Cape Town is the perfect example of city and nature balanced perfectly together.
What in your view makes Cape Town a creative city?
The people. There is so much local talent in Cape Town. From all the content creators on Instagram, the talented architects to the artists who present their work at First Thursday’s. I think that’s what makes Cape Town special.
How has COVID-19 impacted your work?
I must admit I haven’t been as active as I used to be on the photography front and a big reason is due to COVID-19. But after lockdown I really appreciated the beautiful surroundings we have in Cape Town so much more. The ability to get out and explore the incredible mountains we have in the area or jump into the freezing cold sea is something I won’t ever take for granted again.
