North, south, east or west

[Guest k8bug79]

Hi, we are just costing up how much this whole adventure will cost us. eeeek. I have never been to Adelaide before (foolish maybe) but we really like the sound of laid back, green and peaceful yet a city. We live in Cornwall at the moment and love our lifestyle. We have space between our houses (although not everyne does in Cornwal lol) We live in a reasonable sized village on the coast and just love how friendly and laid back it is. We are moving to Oz as we feel my husband can have better work opportunities there, I also cannt work in Cornwall doing what I do so we searched for a place where we could continue our lifestyle and earn some money and Adelaide seems to be that. We are not ready to live in the hustle of a city yet we want to be able to get to the shops and have good schools etc etc.

 

I have googled/ pio/ pia and google earthed lots of areas that have been suggested and looked at prices of rents on realestate.com.au and I see the prices vary wildly as do the areas.

So what I am after if you are able to help is an over view of which direction we should be loking in. On my research I have found

 

North- A little bit run down and tends to have problem areas

West- Great for the beaches and nightlife/ restaurants- but google earthing it the houses seem very close and it looks a little busier than we idealy want

East- Slightly more affluent but not so good for beaches naturally, good transport

South- Developing, nice areas near the beaches. Houses much more spaced out reasonable transport links.

 

We are thinking South may be good as we feel it will offer us a bit of the country space and the ability to get to the city. Am I right in these descriptions? Or can anyone point me in te right direction from their experience

 

Also if I am right in saying SOuth what areas are nice as again some properties look amazing and some look like shacks

 

Thanks in advance

Kate xx

[Diane]

Then of course there's south west, south east, north west, north east, the hills, the villages.......

 

Rent somewhere fairly central when you get here, rent a car, drive around everywhere!

 

What sort of work do you both do? That might have a big bearing on where you look - Adelaide might look smallish on paper but it's actually quite a pain driving from, for instance the south west to the north east, or vice versa.

 

Dividing things like you have just generalises far too much - there are run down and rough areas in the south, and in the west as well as in the north, and lovely areas and suburbs with good schools in the north as well as the west and the south and the east (struggling to think of anywhere run down in the east but I'm sure I could if I tried!). Some areas are very flat and the housing is very old-fashioned, some areas are very hilly. The older suburbs have bigger plot sizes generally.

 

Best advice - either check everywhere out when you arrive and choose then, or find out where you'll be working and use that as a guide to start with.

 

Diane

(By the way, if your research is all on the basis of forums, (fora, forii?) bear in mind that there are a lot more posters in the south so that will naturally be the place that gets the best coverage - lots of people in the other suburbs don't have time to post on forums (or whatever the plural is) because they're out working/having fun! And lots of people in the northern suburbs have got so fed up with their choice being rubbished by people that have never been there so have stopped posting altogether!)

[jim and adel]

Then of course there's south west, south east, north west, north east, the hills, the villages.......

 

Dividing things like you have just generalises far too much - there are run down and rough areas in the south, and in the west as well as in the north, and lovely areas and suburbs with good schools in the north as well as the west and the south and the east (struggling to think of anywhere run down in the east but I'm sure I could if I tried!).

 

... And lots of people in the northern suburbs have got so fed up with their choice being rubbished by people that have never been there so have stopped posting altogether!)

 

Was going to post something similar, if less articulate.

 

Jim

[Guest nishman]

If you're looking for beach-side (a la cornwall?), then South (South West) of the city is a good place to start looking (ignoring the "little cornwall" that is the Yorke Pennisula of course).

On the possible con side of this is "better work opportunities". Depending on your lines of work, you may be looking at a fair commute to the larger "industrial / manufacturing areas" on the northern sides of the city (either side of grand junction road for instance or futher). My car journey to North Terrace in the city/CBD takes nearly an hour at peak traffic (I need to start getting up earlier).

The south is developing as you've mentioned, especially around where we are in Seaford Rise (lots of new builds) and further south. However, these new areas are not as spacious as you may hope - certainly the new developments of the Northern side (or eastern/hills) boast far bigger m² for your buck.

Also, I would say that the (far) South metropolitan areas are lagging behind on the infrastructure stakes compared to the north. Again, I'm talking about where we are, but public transport to the city for instance could be better (noting that there will be new rail link within 4 years - woohoo).

We're nestled between the rolling hills of McLaren Vale/Willunga/Myponga and the sea - it's a beautiful spot (for us). The hills are pretty green at the moment - give it a couple of months though, and it'll all be brown and crispy again

Finally, being Cornish you'll need to be prepared to start calling pasties, "parsties"

Good luck with the research.

Chris (born in Penzance)

[julie-ruth]

I'm a Cornish Lass and very much prefer the rural side of life, when we came here we too had never been to Adelaide, if your the rural type and prefer that, the south has many lovely places to offer but don't discount the north-east, go out the the edge of the foot-hills check it out, I think you'll find that slower country life your use too, my personal favourites gorgous rustic villages are Handorf, Mount Barker and Gumeracha where the Worlds Biggest Rocking Horse is, there is still loads I haven't seen yet, these maybe a bit far out but they are favourite's, the further out you go the more reasonable prices are on properties renting or buying.

 

Also coming on in from the coast check out Happy Valley, Aberfoyle Park etc, when you come over, each suburb/area is unique and you'll probably change your mind when you get here from what you originally wanted. Take your time, life doesn't tale off if your not right next to the ciy, there are lots of shopping malls everywhere with supermarkets, clothes shops etc

 

As for trouble, whats been reported seems mainly round the city, Elizabeth has a bad name but it has one of my favourite shopping centre, I don't fell worried about leaving my car in the car-park while shopping, the Australians are putting a lot of money into improving the north, so I think its going to be a case of watch this space...

 

Hope this helps, good luck

Julie

[Guest caoimhe]

 

North- A little bit run down and tends to have problem areas

 

 

Kate xx

 

Yes the biggest problem area in the North seems to be Elizabeth....it was built for the poms in the 60s. Maybe in 30 years time the South will get the bad reputation as all the poms seem to be heading there now:v_SPIN:

[Diane]

Was going to post something similar, if less articulate.

 

Jim

 

I get a lot of practice...!!! Got to stop rising to the bait though.

[Guest k8bug79]

Thanks guys, thats helped a lot. I know I am generalising like mad, but obviously at this early stage that is all I can do. However I will start looking at some of the Northern districts. I do like the idea of being near the beach so I am not really looking East or North East. Also I am a big wuss and cannot do wildlife (well shall I say scary willfe) so to start with we want to brek ourselves in easy and be nearish city/ coast and not the greenery lol. My main concern is having 3 young kids that dragging them all over a city trying to pin point the best area and then having the pressure of finding a rental in a few week. Plus as by the time we go 2 of my children will be at school I don't want to settle for a place then 6 months later decide to move. I kinda need to at least have the area right and then we can move houses around that. God its hard when kids are involved!!!

[Guest SA Great]

We live in Flagstaff Hill which is really nice but I love Coromandel Valley and a little bit further into the hills Cherry Gardens. In Flagstaff you are 10 mins drive t the nearest beach (Seacliff) but also live in the hills where there is a lovely gorge (Sturt Gorge). As everyone has said, its really hard to pinpoint an area down. The North East is really nice around Tea Tree Gully but a bit too far from the beach for me. Having said that, you probably won't go to the beach much between April and October cos it's too cold (unless for walking of course). But in the middle of January it's great to be such a short drive. Good Luck!

[Guest k8bug79]

Finally, being Cornish you'll need to be prepared to start calling pasties, "parsties"

 

 

Thanks Chris. I worked with an Australian (who is currently on Tv in the UK) and he came into work one day saying ooooh I have just found this great place the "Oh-gee Oh-gee Par-sty co" took me a while to realise he was talking about the oggy oggy pasty company lol.

 

 

My hubby is a chef so I think could find himself working anywhere, plus he desn't work 9-5 so commutes are always different for us. I work in theatre and events so I'll be lucky to find my type of work straight of so I am more concerned with lifestyle first, then when we have found our ideal lifestyle we can start looking at schols.

 

OMG how is all this realistically achieved in just a few weeks eeek

[Guest SA Great]

Thanks Chris. I worked with an Australian (who is currently on Tv in the UK) and he came into work one day saying ooooh I have just found this great place the "Oh-gee Oh-gee Par-sty co" took me a while to realise he was talking about the oggy oggy pasty company lol.

 

 

My hubby is a chef so I think could find himself working anywhere, plus he desn't work 9-5 so commutes are always different for us. I work in theatre and events so I'll be lucky to find my type of work straight of so I am more concerned with lifestyle first, then when we have found our ideal lifestyle we can start looking at schols.

 

OMG how is all this realistically achieved in just a few weeks eeek

 

It's not!! It can take a lot of time to settle. It's like a holiday when you first come over, always something different around the corner but it all becomes familiar and you get up, go to work and come home just like anywhere else in the world. Its your free time where you really notice the difference. I have totally abolished watching TV (its crap anyway!!) and try to do more activities (like spending all night on PIA) LOL

[Guest k8bug79]

I have to say that is my biggest fear (crap tv lol) My husband works evenings so I am left on my own with the kids every night. So evening activities are no good for me, unless I pay a fortune for babysitters. So I rely alot on TV and forums. guess I'll be PIA it a lot lol. Least I'l have virtual friends even if I can never get out to see them ha ha

 

On a more serious note, I am realistic on how long it takes to settle, I came back to Cornwall 4 years go and am only just really feeling home and we have moved twice in that time. But it was home for me so the advantages fo me were that I knew what to be on the look out for and where the good schools were. I guess that is what I am trying to arm myself with. I knw I won't go over with a suburb and school in mind but if I can be prepared with a few and an idea of where we can realsitically afford we can hopefully make it a bit easier

[Guest SA Great]

OK I will be your virtual friend! LOL It's funny really, I have been posting on PIA for ages and have NEVER met anyone from it! You get a mental picture of what people look like but in a way I quite like the secrecy!! If I was to meet up with anyone I think I would choose Tyke, Heaps Good and Scooterdan. They all sound like good fun and all appear to be into Adelaide. Sorry if I have missed anyone off that list but those names just spring to mind. Out of the girls, Diane from Highbury, Rachiegarlo and Rockpool Crab are the three names that spring to mind. But I dare say that everyone who posts on here is nice (creep, creep!!)

[Guest nishman]

My hubby is a chef so I think could find himself working anywhere, plus he desn't work 9-5 so commutes are always different for us. I work in theatre and events so I'll be lucky to find my type of work straight of so I am more concerned with lifestyle first, then when we have found our ideal lifestyle we can start looking at schols.

 

OMG how is all this realistically achieved in just a few weeks eeek

As others have said, it's probably not acheivable, but the whole migration experience makes you more resilient to changes. Before coming here, we would never have contemplated moving to completely different areas or changing the kids schools - but that's what we've done to get the right "fit". First 6 months in NE, and then "relocation" to SW, followed by move to third rental and then our new build - 4 addresses (not counting the apartment I stayed in when I landed), and 3 schools for the kids (4 for eldest) in under three years.

[Guest k8bug79]

As others have said, it's probably not acheivable, but the whole migration experience makes you more resilient to changes. Before coming here, we would never have contemplated moving to completely different areas or changing the kids schools - but that's what we've done to get the right "fit". First 6 months in NE, and then "relocation" to SW, followed by move to third rental and then our new build - 4 addresses (not counting the apartment I stayed in when I landed), and 3 schools for the kids (4 for eldest) in under three years.

 

Yeah I guess you are right. You do what you must to get the best for you and your children. I think my fear is that I am from a military background and my Dad mved a lt and therefore we moved a lot of schools. i always hated that first day, meeting new friends and feeling lost etc. S I want to limit it for my children. I think realistically we have to expect to move at least once. (beside the big move that is)