Enjoy - you're now reaping the benefits of a tough move 
Indeed. We have been extremely fortunate. I sometimes think it's too good to be true. Like there has to be some kind of "catch" somewhere.
What was life like in SA before you left?
Farmer, office worker, city living, small town?
Any crime that influenced your move?
I grew up in Johannesburg. Got my Honours in Env Management and started working on a game ranch. I was fortunate enough to work for two very successful and very wealthy business men and game farmers. I gained valuable life and business experience from them ( and managed to get my Masters degree while working for one of them). I got along well with my boss and made decent money. But I started to see the writing on the wall. It was not a sustainable business model. Too many people got rich too quickly with all the exotic species and hunting and game sales- a modern day gold rush.
Something that also troubled me was the "distribution of wealth". I don't want to go in to a discussion on why it is or how it became. But I was concerned that the poorest of the poor will eventually run out of patience. And I figured it is really tough to win a fight with someone that has nothing to lose.
So my wife and I decided to make a move while we were young enough to start over, have very few assets and no children to worry about.
Thats my story in a nutshell.
There was no specific "event" that triggered us. I was involved in an attempted high jacking and a shootout with poachers. But that played a very small part in my decision to leave. My career was going along well, we had good friends and we were healthy and happy. But in the back of my mind I was concerned that it cannot last with the (then) current political/ economical situation. The only solution I saw for myself, was to start over somewhere else. And please note, I speak from my own perspective. I am not saying SA is kak. I just did not see myself coping and being successful in that environment.
And so here we are. Doing our thing in peace and quiet......