On Arrival Public Accomodation?

[Guest paul smith]

Hi there,

 

We are looking at the best way to have a roof over our heads when we first get to Adelaide. Has anyone been able to use the above service? If so what was it like?

The short term lets are going to take a chunk out of our purse, so has anyone any other ideas? I see Woodcroft has been mentioned.

Many thanks

Paul & Becky Olicver & Isaac.

[Guest sarahsmartiepants]

OAA would be anywhere they put you. It is cheap and basic, some are good and some are dodgy, it would be luck of the draw. Also I think you find out if you get one almost at the last minute, some people not getting one at all.

Personally I think the better bet is short term furnished, there are loads on here to choose from, that way you will gaurenteed of somewhere nice to go after a full on day. I have heard of people who have hated their OAA and rushed into buying and then regretting where they have bought.

sarah

[Guest stufi1997]

Hi Paul and Becky,

We used OAA in April when we arrived. It was in Ingle Farm, a terraced house with 3 bedrooms, eating kitchen, sitting room, bathroom and downstairs toilet. It cost us $164 per week. It was very basic but if you're not too worried it's good for a base to work from. We only stayed there 4 weeks because we wanted to get somewhere where we could get Aaron enrolled in school and we were NOT going to do that there....having said that we used it more for a place to put your head down after a day out, whether that be looking for somewhere to live or a day at the beach. I would apply for it anyway, it always gives you another option....we thought the furnished rentals are very expensive but it just depends what you want, we panicked about not getting OAA and put down a deposit on a private rental through gumtree ($350 per week and that is cheap) which we lost when we got OAA, but i'm gload we went for the government accomodation it gave us more money to spend on days out etc. Hope this helps. Fiona

[Guest Libby1971]

Like you I thought that the short term holiday lets were expensive. So we applied for OAA thinking we'd stay for most if not all of the 12 weeks.

 

We walked in and I nearly walked back out again. I am not a snob by any stretch of the imagination but I did not spend 2 days on a plane for that. Hubbie tried to be encouraging and said it wasn't that bad but 10 mins later he agreed it was worse than we thought.

 

I hated it, we were in and out in 4 weeks. It would have been quicker but HiFx didn't transfer our money for almost 2 weeks. :arghh:If I had known what it would be like, and remember, this was for the girls their first impression of Adelaide, I would have paid 3 times the rate to get a holiday let. It would have been nice to have somewhere decent to spend a day or two whereas we felt we had to go out because it was not nice to stay in.

 

Libby

[Guest stufi1997]

Hiya,

Got to say I do kinda agree with you Libby, but if you're prepared for it?? My heart did sink when we first saw where we were going, but I just put the initial feelings down to highly strung emotions coming straight off the plane.

Once you get acustomed to it it's not so bad. It's not somewhere you could stay the whole 12 weeks granted, but it is quickly forgotten. Just be prepared for slumming it and if you get a good one, (apparently there are good ones), so much the better.

I must admit, we did feel a bit under pressure to get somewhere decent to stay, Cheers Fiona

[Guest soggy]

Hi,

we had OAA in Novar Gardens, it was basic and dated but plenty of room and clean, 3 bedrooms, lounge, kitchen diner,bathroom and laundry room, garden, we stayed 11 weeks and were glad we got it. I think it is the luck of the draw how good or bad the place you get is, but $134 a week including all the bills it's cheap!

 

Simon:)

[Guest morgie@51]

Hi there,

 

We are looking at the best way to have a roof over our heads when we first get to Adelaide. Has anyone been able to use the above service? If so what was it like?

The short term lets are going to take a chunk out of our purse, so has anyone any other ideas? I see Woodcroft has been mentioned.

Many thanks

Paul & Becky Olicver & Isaac.

 

We had OAA for 9 weeks that saw us through to our first 12 month rental. I was here on my own for 5 weeks and then the family was here for final 4 weeks. Below is an extract re our OAA accommodation from a post I put on the forum a few weeks ago after I'd been here 3 weeks.

On Arrival Accommodation. This seems to have had a fairly bad press on the forums over the last few months. All I can say is that I am really pleased with what we have been allocated. We have been given a 3 bed detached house in Novar Gardens. Novar Gardens is a pleasant enough area in general and is fairly close to the airport and transport into the city. I even managed the first few days without a car. The area is fine and I’ve not had any problems so far. Yes the house is basic and no it’s not what we would choose for a permanent home. However, it has enough space for us to all fit in when the 5 of us are all here. It has enough of the basics to be going on with and it is cheap in comparison to open market rentals. With arriving on a Sunday the rental started from the following Saturday so we effectively get 13 weeks here if we need them and I’m thinking that we will probably use most of the 13 weeks if only to save a bit of cash till I’m earning again.

 

I’ve seen a few queries recently about OAA so will pass on a few bits of info I got off the guy who came to sign the rental agreement. Houses like the one we have are saved for people with large families – I think that means at least 3 children – as they have 4 singles, a double and a cot. Also ours had just had the kitchen redone – new cupboards, work tops and a new fridge freezer. He said that they are trying to improve the stock gradually but that when they started they were given some really ‘shady’ properties by the housing association. Apparently they are getting better ones now and what they have is improving all of the time. Based on our experience so far I would recommend OAA but it does sound like it’s a bit of a luck of the draw scenario both in terms of getting OAA and what you get allocated.

[The Monaghans]

Hi there, can't tell you anything about OAA, we didn't get it:mad: but I can tell you that Woodcroft is pretty fab! OK I'm biased, but if you're looking for somewhere nice and not too expensive to put down roots then Woodcroft gets my vote.

[Guest Deb17]

When we got here in July '06 we walked into the OAA house and almost walked back out again...perhaps that's where my negative attitude towards Adelaide started. It was a two storey townhouse in Clovelly Park, with cracked lino on the floor and doors that wouldn't lock properly - we had to get the locksmiths straight out! Oh, and using the toaster used to trip all the electric safety cut-outs and plunge us into darkness, what a joke! The only heating was an oil filled radiator in the lounge that had to be on 24 hours a day to take the chill off the air, and the fumes from it gave us all headaches. $200 a week as well, it was a rip off! And we were right by the South Road with the Tonsley train station terminus at the bottom of the road - great for travelling if you could work out the timetables to Tonsley, but not so great for sleeping off the jetlag. The only positive thing about it was the balcony. I'd take my coffee out there in the mornings, watch the rain (yes rain) and listen to the ruddy birds screeching and squawking...aah those were the days - not.

Deb.

[Guest dunnarunna]

we are in one at the mo, everard park, i knew from what id read about oaa that it prob wouldnt be good and i wasnt expecting the ritz, but it really was a shock when we first saw it. i wanted to get straight back on the plane and vowed to find somewhere else the next day. but 5 weeks we are still here, mainly because after much driving round we havent found where we would like to live yet, but also after the shock you realise its a good cheap base.

donna