Recommended Areas to Live and Avoid Please.

[Guest LuckyCharm]

Hi, First post so please be gentle. We are looking to move to Adelaide in the New Year and are starting our mission on looking at suburbs. Have exausted Realestate.com.au to get general ideas but would really appreciate personal views on specific areas. We have been looking specifically at Lockleys, Flinders Park, Henley Beach and surrounding areas.

 

If anyone has personal views on these areas would be interested to hear your opinions as well as other areas which are either best avoided and highly recommended. I appreciate people have their own opinions but would be great to get some feedback.

 

Cheers

[Anne B]

The western suburbs are a good location, so convenient for everything. My husband is from this area so we wouldn't really consider anywhere else in Adelaide. The areas you mention are all fine, also worth looking at Kidman Park, Fulham, Fulham Gardens, Grange, West Beach. There is a variety of housing in these areas, lots of old 1950s/1960s housing but also newer developments. You will find Henley Beach more expensive than other areas, generally the closer you are to the beach the more expensive the house. We are renting in Fulham Gardens at the moment and it is such a convenient location - near the beach, easy to get into the city, close to the airport, close to shops at Fulham Gardens, Harbour Town and West Lakes, not far from Port Adelaide or Glenelg, and close to sporting venues. Just watch out for possible noise from aircraft near the airport (we don't hear anything here) and avoid the busy main roads like Tapleys Hill Road.

[ajford]

Hi and welcome ,

 

We didn't know exactly where to move before coming out,and ended up getting a holiday let down south,and a cracking one it was. We looked around the area and loved it,at the time I could not drive so had to think about getting to work then getting back home, so where we could move to was important, however catch 22 took place over and over again location vs job vs loction etc..

We are happy to be down here and we love it, if we need the city or further we can get there, living near the beach was a factor too plus having everything around us also is a bonus, children's schools, shopping centres,swimming school, work and friends.

We also find it less busy this way with the traffic.

Each to your own, there will be places everywhere that are nice and not so nice.

Find out exactly what you are looking for regarding work,city,country, beaches,schools not forgetting your budget etc...

[traygo]

Hi we have been here for about 6 months now and have settled in the eastern area of the city in magill... i must say i cannot fault the area or the burbs around it.... kids settled in schools and city only about 20 mins in car... as for bad areas i have only really heard of the northern burbs are not the best but not lived up there or been around there much so cannot really coment.... It all depends on how far u are willing to travel for work.. wife works in the city so takes her about 25-30 mins on bus or 10-15 mins in car and i work out towards edwardstown so it takes me 25 mins in car... Also as we have found out its not as cheap as the place used to be so dont come over here expecting to live a life of luxury on your savings as they dont last long plus their is a licence for everything out here... eg having to pay for driving licence every 2/5 years just cost me and the wife $400 for 5 yrs but these are going up end of this year... food is also expensive but u do get used to the prices once you are earning the aussie dollar.... its just a shame tesco are not over here as that would kick wollies and coles a good kick up the arse... anyway other than that its nice and friendly but i guess it depends on which area you decide to live in...

[Jessica Berry]

Something else to consider is where you are going to work. If you have jobs already to come over to, then that is not an issue, but if you need to find work when you get here then where you live can play a factor in whether you get an interview or not. I work in HR/recruitment and Adelaide employers are obsessed about where people live in relation to the workplace, if it is deemed that you live too far away they will discount you for that reason, but of course you will never know about it.

[Guest Art]

my gf and i live in western suburbs as we are planning a family

[Guest Bather's]

Hi there,

 

We currently live in Woodcroft and have been here since we arrived in January, its a beautiful place and i cant fault Woodcroft Primary...

However we are currently looking at buying a house and have decided on Port Noarlunga/South/Seaford/Moana area. We love the beach and the atmostphere down there!

The drive to work isnt all that bad either..

 

Thanks

 

Danielle, Karl & Kian

[Guest boesman]

Apparently you should avoid any place with 'para' in it's name. Also some northen areas....

[Guest SA Great]

Apparently you should avoid any place with 'para' in it's name. Also some northen areas....

Yes thats pretty true apart from Paracombe in the hills which is lovely. Paralowie, Parafield Gardens, Para Vista and parts of Para Hills are a bit crusty in places. Other places to avoid are areas around Elizabeth and Salisbury (although Salisbury Heights is nice).

A lot of Poms are moving to the southern suburbs although there are a couple of areas to avoid there as well like Christies Beach, Huntfield Heights and parts of Morphett Vale. Hallett Cove (also known as Little Britain!!) is nice and the deep south around Aldinga is good but a long way from the city so be careful of employment opportunities. I live at Flagstaff Hill which is really nice and 20 mins to city on a Sat night.

Check out North East areas like Highbury and Athelstone too which are really nice.

The western suburbs that you mentioned are all nice but not cheap. Hope some of this helps!!!

[Hutchy]

We live in Ethelton, which is very close to West Lakes, Semaphore and Port Adelaide. Lovely area, in my opinion.......But it depends on where you are gonna work..

[Guest boesman]

Hi SA GREAT, we are also looking to move to Flagstaff Hill in January. We are still in the UK, but know of someone who is giving up their rental house and we might take it over from them. I would love to hear more about Flagstaff as we have three kids 8, 6 and 5. Cheers!

 

Yes thats pretty true apart from Paracombe in the hills which is lovely. Paralowie, Parafield Gardens, Para Vista and parts of Para Hills are a bit crusty in places. Other places to avoid are areas around Elizabeth and Salisbury (although Salisbury Heights is nice).

A lot of Poms are moving to the southern suburbs although there are a couple of areas to avoid there as well like Christies Beach, Huntfield Heights and parts of Morphett Vale. Hallett Cove (also known as Little Britain!!) is nice and the deep south around Aldinga is good but a long way from the city so be careful of employment opportunities. I live at Flagstaff Hill which is really nice and 20 mins to city on a Sat night.

Check out North East areas like Highbury and Athelstone too which are really nice.

The western suburbs that you mentioned are all nice but not cheap. Hope some of this helps!!!

[Guest SA Great]

Hi Boesman,

We built here in 1992 and still live in the same house which overlooks the Sturt Gorge. Flagstaff is approx 10-12 mins drive to the nearest beach which is Seacliff, a very good beach for swimming as it doesnt get big waves. As I said earlier it is approx a 20 min drive to the city on a Sat night which is very close in Adelaide terms!! A taxi fare from the city is approx. $40. The nearest major shopping centre is Marion which is the largest shopping centre in SA. It is about 8-10 mins drive. There is a local shopping centre in Flagstaff which has a newsagent, supermarket, fish and chip shop, chemist, bottle shop, real estateagent, bakery, hairdresser and a butcher which specialises in British food!!! It is also very close to the hills with a lovely drive through one of my fave suburbs Coromandel Valley. Nearest pub would be either the Duck Inn at Coro Valley, Victoria at O Halloran Hill or the Flagstaff at Darlington. It is a pretty good spot but obviously not to everyones taste.

Might see you soon then!!

[cazzaj]

hi im just being nosey can i ask why to avoid christies beach area?

[waynecaz]

Hiya we live in Fulham Gardens and love it !!! so close to the beach/city/shops etc . My kids go to Fulham gardens primary school its a very small school with about 120 kids and they love it so much !!.

Its so hard to choose where to live , just check out the area's when you arrive and see if you get a feel for a place .

Good luck xx

[Guest Peachie]

All good areas but when I first arrived I looked at lockleys but it is now a bit pricey henley south is family orientated and nice I looked for a house from west beach up to west lake shores including fulham gardens and kidman park I found a good house in grange and have settled well I would take the best rental you can find in a nice street with good schools then worry about where to buy later as until you have settled into a job and a lifestyle your needs may change and house buying is an expencive hobby here (taxes and stuff)

[Guest Lou]

We rented in Aldinga Beach when we first came and it was great to start with but for my husband who works in the city it was adding too much time to his day so we decided to buy in Flagstaff Hill. It is just a 25 minute drive in for him and has made a big difference to us as a family! We did enjoy living in Aldinga Beach though and loved how easy it was to go to the beach!

[Guest Django]

hi im just being nosey can i ask why to avoid christies beach area?

 

No reason at all. One man's Richmond upon Thames is another man's Beirut. Its personal perseption of the area. Personally I find Flagstaff Hill a bit 'sterile', but I know loads of people that love it and good luck to them. This is why threads of this nature never work. Don't be swayed on a suburb by opinions on here. Make your own mind up. I was put off Woodcroft/Morphett Vale by opinions on here. I have lived in both and still would if I could find an available rental big enough.

[Guest SA Great]

No reason at all. One man's Richmond upon Thames is another man's Beirut. Its personal perseption of the area. Personally I find Flagstaff Hill a bit 'sterile', but I know loads of people that love it and good luck to them. This is why threads of this nature never work. Don't be swayed on a suburb by opinions on here. Make your own mind up. I was put off Woodcroft/Morphett Vale by opinions on here. I have lived in both and still would if I could find an available rental big enough.

 

Yes fair comment!! Christies Beach is GENERALLY regarded as a bit rugged but I personally think its not the place but a few undesirable people live there. And yes you could argue that Flagstaff is a bit sterile. It doesnt have much character compared to Coromandel Vally for example but I guess a lot of suburbs in Adelaide are quite sterile.

[Guest Django]

Yes fair comment!! Christies Beach is GENERALLY regarded as a bit rugged but I personally think its not the place but a few undesirable people live there. And yes you could argue that Flagstaff is a bit sterile. It doesnt have much character compared to Coromandel Vally for example but I guess a lot of suburbs in Adelaide are quite sterile.

 

Indeed dude. People's personal perseption. After all if we all saw things the same we would all be crammed into one suburb and the rest of the Adelaide area would be empty.

[Guest SA Great]

Indeed dude. People's personal perseption. After all if we all saw things the same we would all be crammed into one suburb and the rest of the Adelaide area would be empty.

 

You mean a bit like Hallett Cove!! LOL

[Guest scmercer]

Lockleys and Henley Beach are both lovely but pricey. I love Hove, Brighton and Somerton Park areas as well but again can be expensive.

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Hi there,

Christies Beach used to have a reputation for being a bit rough but there's majotr development happening and like most areas there are good roads and not so good roads. That's the strange thing about Adelaide...house proud people living next door to "bogans'...it's everywhere. I bought a house in Christies 3 years ago and have no regrets.

This is from a previous post:

 

PORT NOARLUNGA

 

 

 

This suburb has everything and everywhere can be reached by walking. I do not know of any other suburb that has so much right on it's doorstep.

 

There'a a transport interchange at the large Noarlunga shoping centre. A train to town takes 40 minutes. The southern expressway can be reached within a few minutes and this reduces the travel time into the city.

 

Beaches: It's a seaside suburb with the most stunning sandy beach, jetty and reef protected swimming. Anglers fish from the jetty and children and divers share the sea! You can walk there or reach them within a few minutes by car. The nearby Christies beach is dog friendly and your pets can run free in the sand and surf every day.

Port Noarlunga / Port Noarlunga South took the 2010 award for Australia's cleanest beach. Over $8 million is being spent on new beachfront facilities.

 

 

 

Shopping: Too much to list! The Noarlunga centre is within walking distance and is 2 minutes by car.

Beach road in Christies Beach has Coles and Woolworths and many eateries and fast food outlets. The supermarkets are open from 6 till 9 and you don't even need a car. There are liquor stores and drive in liquor stores. There are 24 hour petrol stations, convenience stores and fast food outlets..

 

The village of Port Noarlunga has character. There are fish and chip shops, a post office, restaurants, vets, dive hire etc. There is a childrens fort and play area just accross the Onkaparinga estuary and this has barbie and picknick facilities.

 

 

Schools: There are child care and kindy facilities in Port Noarlunga, Noarlunga centre and Christies Beach.

The Port Noarlunga primary school is very popular (my own grandson will be going there!) and this school is being expanded and refurbished with $4 million due to the growing demand.

There is a Catholic primary school (St Johns) in nearby O Sullivans and a primary school in beach road.

High schools and technical colleges include the Catholic Cardijn, Christies High, and Marcellin technical.

The Noarlunga TAFE is just a few minutes away and this offers so many courses for teenagers and adults. It's next door to the modern public library.

 

 

Housing: Prices in the range of $350,000 up to million dollar properties for beachfront homes. The area is undergoing massive transformation with many 1960's homes being renovated or replaced with modern units. There is a large expat population and the adjoining suburb of Christies beach is where 25% of the residents were born in the UK! Prices are rising in this suburb and many properties are being converted into holiday accommodation.

 

For more info and pictures for Port Noarlunga have a look at:

 

http://localvoices.r...etadvisorsubrev

 

and

 

http://localvoices.r....arlunga/photos

 

It also seems to be a pretty good investment area. This was a news item on Yahoo on the 3rd of May listing Port Noarlunga and Christies Beach as being in the top 5 suburbs for property investment.

 

http://au.pfinance.y....state-in-2011/

 

 

Entertertainment: The nearby (walkable!) Noarlunga entertainment precinct has a cinema complex, bowling, ice skating, large indoor pool and sports facility, and laser quest. A new gym has just opened.

There is the floodlit footy sports oval in Noarlunga and the footy and cricket oval in Christies. There are bowling clubs in Christies and Port Noarlunga, tennis courts, canoeing on the Onkaparinga river,There are hotels, restaurants, and pubs in the Port Noarlunga village. There are Indian, Chinese, pasta eateries and pub food all on your doorstep.

 

 

Other facilities: There are local doctors, the Noarlunga hospital and the soon to be completed health village.There is surf lifsaving associations, launch sites on the beaches and local dive facilities. There are great fishing spots on the river, from the jetty or from boats launched from O Sullivans beach. The water is calm and protected and the kids swim, surf and body board in safety. There are loads of parks and playgrounds, tennis courts and sport facilities. The infrastructure is good with high speed internet from many service providers.

 

 

 

Would I still choose to live here now?

Absolutely!

I look out on the stunning estuary and sea every day and am thankfull for being able to live in such a stunning location. I have the McLarenvale wine region just a few km away.

 

I bought my PortNoarlunga house 4 years ago after being in Oz for 3 weeks! I have just bought another home in Port Noarlunga and my daughter lives in Port Noarlunga! My teenage son works at the local Noarlunga centre and my other teenage son is attending the local Noarlunga TAFE. I walk (run!) my energetic boxer (Dutchess) on the beach nearly every day. I take my grandchildren to the beach, the local pool, the shops, the parks....my entire world is on my doorstep.

It's safe to walk the streets and i don't worry about crime. The people are so friendly and my decision to live here was totally right.

 

Tamara