Adelaide Vs Perth who wins ?

[Guest maxfactornackerlacker]

I know this is a really subjective question, but would love to hear balanced arguments for either ( in comparison ).

 

Basically here is my dilemma -

 

We have our visa, and are planning a reccie for Feb 2011.

 

 

My friends emigrated to perth 4 years ago, and are based there permanaently now.We would not be able to afford to live beside them, so they would only be able to be distant friends who were visited evry now and then... but at least they would be somebody.

 

We like the look of Adelaide , but have absolutely no connections there.

 

How can you compare one place to another, and if so, what are the comparisons ?

 

 

• Which is the cheaper to live in for property
  
• which is the cheaper for groceries etc
  
• which is the bettter for employment prospects
  
• weather
  
• crime
  

 

I am booking my reccie on Saturday, so any answers/advice/opinions greatly appreciated.

 

Max

[Guest nic lavidan]

Adelaide and cheaper but has less employment propects, this is the impression I get when talking with a friend based in Perth. I think Adelaide is considered a more beautiful place to live as well generally.

[Guest Django]

Adelaide and Perth who wins???? Perth 1-0. Should have been more the Reds were very poor that day.

 

Hmmmmmm maybe I should read the post and not just the threads title............. Sorry I'll get my coat.

 

 

 

**Pete leaves thread stage right**

[milly]

Perth has more employment opportunities & much better weather. Great beaches too.At one time I would have said the cost of living was cheaper in Adelaide but now I don't think there is a lot of difference. Utility bills are certainly less here ie electric, gas & water bills. And speeding fines!Having said that - - I still love Adelaide too!

[AussieRob]

I believe in answer to your questions, Adelaide probably wins in every instance. It is cheaper to live in Adelaide than Perth, Groceries are also a little cheaper in Adelaide and although Perth should have a better choice of employment, I think it is actually in recession at the moment, where as Adelaide isn't really in recession or growing either. Perth also relies heavily on mining for it's growth and has very little industry, so it can depend on your background to what kind of work you want.

 

Which is better though is hard, I've rarely heard anyone say a bad word against Perth, it is supposed to be very nice there. The weather is warmer than here in winter but cooler in Summer, windier though as well, the sea is warmer for swimming, being closer to the Uk the time zones make it easier to call home or watch football, and it is possible to fly to the Uk from perth a lot quicker, 10 hour flight to dubai, then a 8 hour flight to UK. After doing a 14hour flight from Hong Kong to Uk, straight after 9 hours from sydney to hong kong that sounds fantastic.

 

The only real bad side to Perth is you are a long way from the rest of Australia, 2 or 3 times a year we will go to Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne for weekend breaks, see shows etc... from Perth though it's probably about a 6 hour flight to Sydney, which make it less attractive.

[soo_the_panda]

Agree with AussieRob - the isolation would be a huge factor for me. I love being able to fly to Melbourne for a weekend in less than 2 hours, not much more to Sydney or other places on the east coast. Also I woudln't put too much weight on knowing one set of people there - I moved to Adelaide knowing one friend there - I have seen her probably 5 times in 4 years...

 

 

I've only been to Perth once for a weekend and felt the city centre was soooo similar to Adelaide. I guess it's weird that after living so close to Europe, it's odd flying four hours and seeing the same shops, same restaurants, same food, people drinking the same brand of beer rather than being a few countries away!

 

However you are the only one who can decide - the vibe of a place is a big thing for me... it's like saying would you rather live in London or Oxford... very subjective and you probably won't know til you see.

 

Let us know what you think of both!

[Guest Squareman]

Adelaide wins hands-down for me. If you are going to live in Perth, you may as well well be living in another country. Price-wise, I think most things are the same, as is the weather.

 

The major advantage for Adelaide and South Australia will be the Olympic Dam project. It's going to have a brilliant spin-off effect on Adelaide

[Guest eager6]

We have been to Perth and l was bored after 10days.Adelaide has alot more to offer,it is not as pretty and clean as Perth but it has SOUL,which l felt Perth lacked.It is too new,clean and perfect for my taste.I love Adelaide - city,beaches,hills,vineyards it has everything.Also property in Perth is crazy,try living near to city and beach in Perth and you will be paying HUGE money.My vote goes to Adelaide without a doubt! Siobhan

[Guest LynseyB]

This is the dilemma we had as we were considering reapplying for ss SA buy there could be a potential Job offer for hubbie in Perth with relocation package.it was the house prices that put us off going to Perth but we still wonder if we are doing the right thing career wise as everyone talks about opportunities on Perth but not Adelaide (accountant and electrician) What is the Olympic project mentioned previously

[Guest Ryan T. Lion]

I know someone who spent nearly a year here in Adelaide, who has since gone to Perth.

 

Spoke to him not too long ago and he says he actually prefers Adelaide and wouldn't mind coming back.

 

I haven't been to Perth but I admit the isolation may be an issue.

 

They have ordered their fisheries to kill any shark that poses a threat to humans - they've been getting a few attacks there recently.

[Guest Ryan T. Lion]

What is the Olympic project mentioned previously

 

It's a huge mine. Colossal. Thousands of people depend upon it for their livelihood - and the SA government has just given it permission to expand.

 

Info on Olympic Dam.

[Guest LynseyB]

Thanks for the info.suppose this would be a big plus on the job opportunities side for Many people then

[jim and adel]

So many factors make this hard to compare. People's perceptions of things like how expensive a place is can get stuck in time, when actually there can be quite a lot that changes in a short space of time. A few years ago, Adelaide wasn't in the top 300 most expensive cities in the world according to all the various reports and studies on this kind of thing (plenty of other Aus cities were in the top 100 of these) and the state government made much of this in its 'Make the Move' advertising to potential migrants. Then it started to appear in the top 200 ... then top 100 ...

 

In this year's Federal Government report, the State of Australian Cities 2011, Adelaide has made the biggest jump of any city (44 places), to 46^th most expensive in the world. It also has the highest proportion of children in jobless families of all the Aus capital cities and, in mental health, the highest 'psychological distress levels' for adults. Of course, someone will be along any minute to point out that stats don't tell the full story, but so many indicators show that Adelaide is becoming an expensive place to live that it's important not to judge how it compares to elsewhere if the 'evidence' is more than a couple of years old because things will likely have changed.

 

On the plus side for Adelaide, most other Aus capitals are still above it in the expensive places lists (but with a much smaller gap), and it was recently voted the most liveable city in Australia by its residents.

 

Population-wise, Perth is growing much faster than Adelaide and there's an interesting dynamic happening when it comes to migration: SA struggles to get migrants here and, of those who do come, a bigger percentage then leave than is the case for other states. When they leave it's usually to go to Sydney and Brisbane. When migrants leave Sydney (and more migrants leave Sydney than any other city) their most popular destination is Perth. At current rates of growth, in just over 15 years, Perth will have a million more people than Adelaide. Some will find this a turn off, for others it will be an attraction. Either way, it shows that a lot of people are drawn to Perth.

 

Real estate in Perth is still more expensive than in Adelaide, but the gap has closed a lot in the last four or five years, and wages are generally higher in Perth ('average weekly cash earnings' for Adelaide is $936.90 = $48,719, while for Perth it's $1,183 = $61,516). Also, three quarters of Perth residents live within 20k of the CBD, and once you go outside of this property prices drop quite a bit (we looked at several very attractive properties about 30 mins drive of the CBD last time we were there – all going for less than we'd paid to have our house built in the Adelaide Hills).

 

Food and shopping I'd say are pretty much the same (the ABS 'average retail prices of selected items' compares prices of 60+ everyday items in the eight capital cities and this shows that in some cases – bread, potatoes, chocolate, rump steak, beer etc – Perth is cheaper, but in others – butter, chicken, eggs etc – Adelaide is cheaper). Certainly I've not noticed a difference when visiting Perth apart from the pubs are cheaper!

 

SA has higher utility bills (and electricity rose 17% in Aug), and these are planned to rise significantly higher each year for the next three years at least.

 

From an employment and revenues angle, whilst Olympic Dam is welcome (environmentally it might be less so if you analyse the impact statement properly!) it needs putting in perspective. If SA had another ten mines of its size on the go we still wouldn't have the mining activity or royalties of WA or Qld, and those states squeeze far more revenue out of the miners than SA has done out of BHP!

 

In terms of what the cities look like, Perth is a lot newer, shinier and high rise than Adelaide. Some will find it sterile because of this, but equally some will think Adelaide old and scruffy in comparison.

 

Weatherwise, Perth is similar - I'd suggest that in summer not quite as hot as Adelaide's hottest days, but generally you wouldn't notice the difference. Beachside suburbs probably get more consistent wind than most of ours. The beaches are great in Perth and I've found the sea much warmer than Adelaide, particularly spring/autumn.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Jim

[milly]

I agree with everything that Jim has written above. I have lived many years in both Adelaide & Perth.

 

Not too sure that the pubs are any cheaper!

Better climate in Perth & certainly less to pay for utility bills.