Murray Bridge - anybody live there? Need help with creating a shortlist of suburbs!

[Guest libbysmum]

Hi all, (hope I've put this in the right sub-forum, mods, if not please move it to where it would be most appropriate) am after some feedback on Murray Bridge. We have looked at this area as a possible town to migrate to. There looks to be some lovely property at a very affordable price. The local view reviews on real estate.com seem positive although it only gets a rating of 70/100.

 

We are a family of 4, both 29 with 2 young children 3 and 4. My Oh is a Barber and hopes to start his own Barbering business when we arrive. We are looking for a somewhere with enough of a population to sustain another barber shop, but also one which is affordable as we don't want to eat into too much of our equity from our house sale.

 

We are not overly concerned about being near the coast, the most important factor really due to setting up a small barber shop is affordability. We would like a leafy area, with easy access to reserves walking trails etc. Somehwhere with good access to childcare incase I need to work too. Good schools for my children, and somehwere where there is plenty to do.

 

When I look at google earth of adleiade suburbs, it is a little off putting, the suburbs all seem to blend into one big area, there does not seem to be any distinction between them, which is obviously not what we are used to being from the uk where generally there are networks of villages towns and cities which have definite distinctions between them.

 

Other possible areas we have looked at are mount barker, huntfield heights, woodcroft, happy valley - areas to the far east of the southern suburbs so we are closer to the hills / bush.

 

We also looked at Victor Harbor, but after speaking to someone who lived there found that there are already 3 barber shops although after searching the internet could only find 1 listed - so this has become a bit of a stumbling block in our research, not all small business are listing themselves. Is there anywhere that would have a comprehensive list of a ll commercial enterprises whether advertised in local business listings or not?

 

looking forward to peoples opinions!!

Sarah

[Diane]

Have you looked here: http://www.hairsalons.com.au/adelaide/victorharborhairsalons.shtml although they are general hair salons as opposed to Barbers specifically.

 

Looks like there are a few more in Murray Bridge: http://www.hairsalons.com.au/hairdressers/search_results.php?keyword=&category=2&location=murray+bridge&location_id=5&submit=Salon+Search

[Guest parko]

Hi

 

Try and check out Little hamton and Nairne both up and comming areas in the hills

 

Parko

[Sallyh]

I'm afraid all I know about Murray Bridge is that we usually drive straight through it to go somewhere else. I don't think I'd advise planning on migrating there from a distance, you need to see the place. I think you might feel isolated. I wouldn't want to move there. Sorry.

[Guest kerfumph]

The Bridge is a dump. Move to Mt Barker as there is only 1 Barber I think.

[Jimjustin]

I have never been to Murray Bridge but I know lots of Aussies who have, and a few who live there....and none of them have a good word to say about it! Come out and rent for a little while before deciding on where you want to be- there are a lot of differences in the areas in and around Adelaide. Migrating and settling somewhere unseen is setting yourself up for a hard time.

Adelaide is great though- dont be put off! Mount Barker would be a better bet than Murray Bridge- if you wanted somewhere a little quieter, consider Strathalbyn which is a lovely little town an hour from Adelaide in the hills, or Gawler, to the north.

[Guest libbysmum]

I have never been to Murray Bridge but I know lots of Aussies who have, and a few who live there....and none of them have a good word to say about it! Come out and rent for a little while before deciding on where you want to be- there are a lot of differences in the areas in and around Adelaide. Migrating and settling somewhere unseen is setting yourself up for a hard time.

Adelaide is great though- dont be put off! Mount Barker would be a better bet than Murray Bridge- if you wanted somewhere a little quieter, consider Strathalbyn which is a lovely little town an hour from Adelaide in the hills, or Gawler, to the north.

 

Thanks for that, It's so daunting knowing where to start. We will rent for a while until we decide exactly where we are going to live, but for us it is important to have a few locations shortlisted before we arrive due to my OH opening his own barber shop. We won't be able to hold off earning money too long although I suppose he could do some casual work for someone else until we do decide exactly where we want to settle. Trying to slim down the list of lovely adelaide suburbs described on this forum is so difficult, and like I said when I take a look at the satellite map of adelaide it looks like blocks upon blocks of housing, all suburbs blurred into one with no distinction - something we really are not used here in the UK. We will obviously get a better feel for the place when we arrive but I am trying to research as many different areas as I can before we make the move.

 

So out of interest what is it about Murray bridge that's not so good? Is it the infrastructure, facilities, healthcare, people? When looking on realestate there were some gorgeous housing but did notice a few roller shutters which set some alarm bells ringing. I did think maybe they were for sun protection, am I being a little naive?

[Guest moonraker1959]

You may be surprised on how much the suburbs can be different from one another.I know it looks to you like they all probably look the same,but they don't.I think Murray Bridge might be abit of an aquired taste myself.Its kind of ok,but I think coming from the UK,it would be too much of a culture shock.Most people only pass through MB on their way to somewhere else like Melbourne!I guess It gets very hot in MB in summer and you would have the added nuisance of alot of mozzies due to the town being on the river.Have you considered the Borossa?There are plenty of nice towns there such as Angaston,Tanunda,Kapunda and so on.

[Guest parko]

hi

going back to murry Bridge to give you some idea of property my brother in law boight a bloke of land and subdiveded it and could not sell the blocks so he ended up building a three bed house on one of the blocks that was complete about eight months ago and still cannot sell it,I would stay well away from Murry Bridge ,As i said before take a look at Little Hapton ,Nairne Hanhdorfand as some one else said Mout Barker i dont think you will go far wrong.

 

Good Luck

 

 

Parko

[Sallyh]

Yes I also think that if you want to avoid being in a suburb of Adelaide (which really, there's nothing wrong with and you'll be amazed when you get here how many reserves and green areas there are, even in city areas), another place to consider is Mount Barker. I think MB's a really nice place, DH grew up there for a number of years, and what's also good about it is that it's not too far from Adelaide either. Anywhere in the Hills would be nice (tho haven't been to Strathalbyn) but the price goes up...

 

We LOVE around Piccadilly etc, got family there, but again it's not cheap. On my first trip to Adelaide when DH and I were first going out, I felt like a fish out of water driving around the city - couldn't stand the "messy" look of the buildings along the main roads etc - totally different planning controls meaning basically anyone can put up any old shed with any old garish sign on the front of it, and it all looked so vulgar to me. But once I'd been on a drive up into the hills, seen Piccadilly, got a "balance" for the other side of Adelaide, everything else seemed not so bad and I felt like I'd seen something I could compare to home. None of the other stuff bothers me now, but it was one of my first impressions of Adelaide, coupled with meeting all the family, first trip on a plane... Possibly my equivalent then of the feeling of "different" you get when you migrate. Cos moving here since I've visited many times in the past 10 yrs of marriage etc has meant that it's just felt like home away from home, I knew what to expect, and the only emotional things for me were the being away from good friends and family, and waiting for friendships to grow and the family to make room for us again. But I still remember those first impressions.

 

So I'd say - you need to be here, look around, pick somewhere sensible for exploring for a short term rental when you first get here, and see what "fits" for you. You can't compare it at all to the UK in terms of driving times and distances.

 

Big long thing from me but hopefully that gives you some perspective.

[Jimjustin]

Its funny when you look at Adelaide on a map- as you say it looks like one suburb just rolls into the next. Yet when you go up to Mount Lofty or any other high vantage point it looks like a big forest! Particularly with all the rain here over the last 12 months and everything being so green- it looks great, and not really like a city at all.

 

You are doing the right thing in researching as much as possible before you come, but you really wont know whats best for you until you get here and see for yourself.

When we came out we did the same- lots of research and questions on here etc- and we ruled out Henley Beach for instance, because on paper it seemed too close to the airport. However we arrived and have rented here for the last year and absolutely love it! Very expensive to buy at the beach though.

That said we have just bought some land to build our house on the face of the Hills about 15 minutes from the city, so somewhere different again.

 

We had thought about Hallett Cove, Christies, and some of the other southern suburbs, but on arrival we stayed down that way and although it was nice enough we found it a little distant from the city for us. Plus it was full of poms....

 

There are some very nice areas to the east of the city, very leafy suburbs, but they can be expensive.

 

Come over and have a look for yourself without committing to one area. Get your other half to work for someone else for a while until he opens his own place- that way he will have time to find the right location, and the right place for all of you. He will also be able to find out if the industry differs in any way etc... there are subtle differences with most things here.

 

One thing I will say is if you look around you WILL find something that suits you all here- there is something for everyone within an hour of the city here.

 

Good luck with your adventure.

[Anne B]

So out of interest what is it about Murray bridge that's not so good? Is it the infrastructure, facilities, healthcare, people? When looking on realestate there were some gorgeous housing but did notice a few roller shutters which set some alarm bells ringing. I did think maybe they were for sun protection, am I being a little naive?

 

You are not being naive, roller shutters are generally there for protection from the sun and to keep the cold out at night. Houses here don't have double glazing so shutters are a great idea, many Mediterranean houses have shutters for the same reason. Our rental has them on 2 north facing bedroom windows and I love them.

 

Murray Bridge is a typical rural country town, and probably not what people imagine when they dream of moving to Australia, but there's nothing wrong with it. Country towns tend to have pretty good infrastruture, we had to take our son to the doctors when we were on holiday in Barmera (a small country town on the Murray) and the facilities were fantastic compared to what we had out in rural Essex.

 

Adelaide is a big suburban sprawl, but there are suburbs which are more rural than others. Gawler and the Barossa are nice, plus the foothills and the Adelaide Hills, which are more similar to the pattern of villages and towns in the UK.

[Guest Guest5035]

theres 2 kind of male only (barbers)hairdressers in the village shops at golden grove, both do really well plus theres 2 ladies/mens hairdressers and they also do really well.So living in a burb is good business, by the way the going rate for a blokes cut is $22 to $26

 

stevo

[Hayshake]

Having lived in and having many friends in the Murray Bridge area, I would say that Murray Bridge has a lot to offer, a good sized swimming pool, Horse race track, Golf Course, Speedway track for cars, and a very good riverside frontage where lots of events take place. The town is small but expanding, and they are planning to build a new shopping center there. Lots of organisations in the town.

Downsides are that it is quite small, and can be very hot in Summer with less rain than Adelaide. To visit Adelaide takes about 1 hour if you stick to the speed limits, but it is Motorway all of the way.

Having family in Adelaide, we decided that it was just that too far out to see the Grandchildren etc, so moved into the city.

If you are used to a small town in the UK then Murray Bridge could suit people well, however I am unable to answer the question re Barber's as our Aussie friend used to cut our hair, so never had to look for one.!!