Neighborhood conditions: Plays in with safety as well. Opportunities for physical activities? Green space? Access to clean water and good food?
Like Los Angeles, Cape Town is a city that is filled with many pocketed areas. From Rondebosch where I live, to Town, to Seapoint, to Greenpoint, to the Waterfront, to Claremont, to Cavendish, to Newlands- each area brings a different feel and population in its area.
In my experiences, I have found that some neighborhoods have been a lot safer than others and I think a lot of that goes back to the income inequality as well as the racial distribution. There are definitely more crimes in the poorer, low income areas, which has been a relatively humbling experience for me as I have become more aware of it. It's crazy to me that a lot of the crime has come from people not seeing eye to eye, not recognizing the other as a human, but instead judging one by the color of their outward, by their skin. If we could just realize that we are all human, all people, maybe crime and differing neighborhood conditions wouldn't exist the way that they do.
The suburbs are by far the safest areas to exist. That is because of the large amount of families, schools, restaurants and stores that exist. There is so much stimulation in these ares: Rondebosch, Cavendish, Clifton, and they are just rich in so much energy.
There are some opportunities for physical activities, but not as much as I would have hoped. I am a HUGE runner and it has been truly a difficult time finding places to go running, safely, outdoors. Along the pier in Seapoint there is a nice running trail, but other than that I have found very limited places for physical activities outdoors ALONE. If you are with another it is a lot safer and that makes more places available, but overall you should bring a pal around. There are always sidewalks along the roads and some incredible incredible running paths but I would rate it as not the most running friendly city, just like it is not the most age friendly city. It does have its wonderful areas though. It does score a 10/10 in terms of Greeeeeeeeenery! Cape Town is magnificently green with its vast mountains, amazing hiking, beautiful rivers and because of all that there are plenty of opportunities for physical activities.
The access to clean water and good food is also another factor that comes down to income. If one if able to afford to live in a nice area, then chances are they have that access to better quality food and clean water. Healthy food, as we all know, is incredibly expensive. What Cape Town has seemed to succeed in is the fact that food is level. By this I mean that the fruits and vegetables are priced a little more equally than they are in the states. Healthy food of course if more expensive, but there are many opportunities to eat locally, reasonable priced food at farmers markets :)