We had reached a point in our lives where decisions had to be made. We wanted to escape from cities and their frenetic lifestyles, but not to escape from life. We wanted to be close to nature, but not to be cut off from most of the conveniences of a modern town. We wanted to slow down the pace of our lives, but still to be part of a vibrant, active community.

So we set out on a country-wide trip to find this potential paradise. After finding some "not too bad's" and a few "quite nice's" on our travels, we arrived in Knysna and knew instinctively this was "IT". It fulfilled all our requirements, and then some. Truly it is a beautiful place, with its unique lagoon, its backdrop of mountains and its combination of fynbos and indigenous forest. And it is in the middle of "the Paradise Coast", or "The Garden Route", surely one of the most beautiful areas in the world, never mind just South Africa. The town is large enough to have just about everything you need (unless you must have large shopping centres, frequent operas and shows and general glitz and glamour) . It has good schools, good medical care, great sporting facilities. It is not far away from a couple of big cities if you need that sort of adrenalin boost. It has every society, organisation, interest or hobby group you could possibly imagine. It has character, charm and an atmosphere all of its own.

And the people! May they never change into big city types! May they always remain as warm, friendly, trusting, open and delightful as we have found them! We have made more friends here in three years than in a quarter of a century in the big city. Yes, we have more time here, so it is easier to get to know people. And yes, you still have to make some effort to get out there and become a part of the society around you. But everyone WANTS to have you - in general Knysna is a very inclusive place, with few cliques and hangups.

"That's all very well", you may say, "but there's no real business potential in a small town". True, Knysna is not a major business hub, though some prominent and successful business people choose to live here and commute to the cities during the week. Many people here are happy with less stressful lives, and have down-scaled to smaller, less intensive businesses. But the town is growing, and as it grows, so will the business opportunities: Knysna is one of the fastest-developing areas in the country.

Don't come to Knysna if you want to bring the city and its pretentious lifestyles with you. Come here to change gear, to "click into down-aging" - as Faith Popcorn might put it. Come here to pursue the elusive "happiness' we all seek, and which cannot be found in materialism or money. Come here to really live.