For years Ashmini Naidoo battled each day with bumper-to-bumper traffic, taking an hour and a half to get to work. But now that's all changed.

Nine months ago, she moved into Sunset Towers, a new luxury apartment development in Morningside, and it's changed her life: her daily commute has been reduced to an easy 20 minutes and her high-rise apartment, with its spectacular views over Sandton and greater Joburg, has become her haven in the middle of the hustle and bustle.

"We are really in the hub of things here, but it doesn't feel stressful," she says of her new lifestyle.
Ashmini (42) is one of a new breed of pioneers who have moved into central Sandton, many into the luxury multi-million rand residential developments that are going up in the area. Like Ashmini, they have chosen to move closer to where they work and play.

Over the years, Sandton – once a sprawl of semi-urban residential suburbs, with houses set on large properties and a thriving horsey set – has become highly commercial. The trickle of businesses, including the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, escaping the crime and grime of Joburg, turned into a flood, and today the area is the financial capital of South Africa.

It has become a hub of business and shopping, with many of the area's old houses having been demolished to make way for new office blocks and shopping centres.

But people like Ashmini are moving back in and once again calling Sandton home. Ashmini left a townhouse complex in Randpark Ridge for her corner unit with its breathtaking panoramic views.

"People said I would battle with traffic, but it is just the opposite," says Ashmini, who used to commute to work in Parktown.

This is real lock-up-and-go-living, but it certainly doesn't feel like downsizing. "I look forward to coming home in the evening and having a glass of wine on the balcony." Surprisingly, there is hardly any traffic noise.

Ashmini says, "My bedroom faces east and this balcony is on the west, so I get to follow the sun. Once the sun has set, all the lights start coming on and it really is magnificent. All credit to the visionary behind this design."
It is also the perfect place from which to admire the raw power of Highveld storms or to gaze at the moon. "I sit out here almost every night," says Ashmini, who says it is sometimes difficult to get guests to leave.

Other perks are the bustling nightlife and shopping destinations just down the road. "I couldn't ask for anything better," she says.