An important factor is that the entry of Africans into Karen pushed the value of the land so dramatically high that the mzungus could not resist cashing in and upgrading their lifestyles. Plus the city has grown so fast that Karen became a suburban. Wealthy mzungus don't traditionally live in suburbs. They traditionally live in countrysides under freehold titles.

Don't they miss the amenities of urban life?

Exactre...also fresh organic food..

Cinemas, shopping, gisty hotels, more stuff to do...

And typical of middle class

Hizo ni raha za mtu amepata pesa juzi. Old money wazungus love nature so much, they prefer safaris, hunting/fishing, horse riding, extreme sports, hiking, na kadhalika. Those are things that are done huko Nanyuki.

Side note: you should see how much money those old money wazungus donate to wildlife conservancies. Lewa publishes donations and they can clock 300-500m in one year alone! Hiyo ndio raha yao sasa

Chaka ...
Well put. Even in the UK the wealthy live in Shags; in 10-acre plus greenery, ideally with wildlife. The only amenity needed is deer and foxes for the hunting season. Fresh air and quiet a must. In fact it is so bad such that countryside land is unavailable. It disappeared ages ago during the rein of the land barons. Everybody else is crammed into polluted cities like sardines in a can.

The idea is also to live in separate exclusion from you and me. In England many live in Sheffield - 5 hours from London. Those who run their businesses in London have private choppers for the commute and a small 2 b/r flat in London when it is too late or the weather is too bad.

In Nanyuki, Laikipia and Ol Kalou some have their own airstrips and small aircraft which they also use for spraying crop.

Nice topic.Since i baceme jungu black one,i no longer live with the rest of vinyangarikas.
Anyway i have seen those jungus in Nanyuki, kitambo they used to shop at settlers stores but nowadays there is Nakumatt they show up in their Toyota landcruisers for a month shopping and then take the route back to the jungle.I live in an appartment and everytime i go visiting the folks in the countryside , i dream of going back to the village in Kenya with unpolluted air and eat my own spinach (organic for that matter).
The problem is those appartments allover. In Kenya , people identify you with where you live and what you drive. I know a guy who has lived in an SQ in Kileleshwa for over 15 yrs. When you ask him where do you live, he says Kile , only that he does not tell you its an SQ. So people will struggle to go stay in those appartments and pay expensive just coz of the name and not coz of the amenities.

By the way where does the former CJ live ? saw he said in an appartment. Thought he had money to pay a mansion.
Greed , corruption, garbage menace, water rationing name it. Toka Nairobi.

This is how one is supposed to live in harmony with nature. Not clearing all vegetation and replacing it with cabro....

One thing i learned from white Kenyans, is buy a gun, get a Deutsche Shepherhund,get a four wheel drive and live far from people. Most whites i know in kenya, live in very serene areas and they seem to enjoy Africa fully than most kenyans.