Adelaide suburb advice needed

[Robbiep]

Hi guys,

 

 

We are currently living in Pasadena and we really enjoy the area. Although an older area, its pretty central and convenient for us (work, beach, kids activities etc)

 

 

As we are fairly new to Adelaide and are not really familiar with suburbs “further out”, I was wondering if you guys had any advice on the below suburbs:

 

 

Hallet Cove

Sheidow Park

Trott Park

Happy Valley

Woodcroft

Reynella

Port Noarlunga

Seaford Rise

 

 

We are currently renting, but feel that for the rent we currently paying we could probably be paying off a mortgage in the areas I mentioned above, which is why we may consider buying something next year in these suburbs.

 

 

I work in Unley (Greenhill Road) and my wife works in the CBD. My kids (1 and 3 years old) both go to a Wanslea Daycare in Kingswood.

 

 

Any advice on these suburbs will be much appreciated. Some things we would want to consider are:

 

 

1: Transport to work (Unley and the CBD). We happy to drive, get public transport (train or bus) or even cycle. I’m a keen cyclists and would be more than happy to do the occasional cycle (provided it’s a safe route)

2: Schools in these suburbs (public and private)

3: Places of interests / Shopping Centres etc.

 

 

We were actually in Port Noarlunga (briefly) a few months back and we really liked the feel of it. It felt very quaint and different. It also had a stunning beach.

 

 

Look forward to hearing from you guys.

 

 

Regards,

Robbie

[DougM]

Blimey, we'll soon have to rename Port Noarlunga as New England. Yes it's a lovely area but if you want to be really well centralized, I'd recommend Woodcroft. Every-thing is within a twenty minute drive, Port N. to the CBD(well almost) The local shopping mall is being updated(nearly finished plus under cover parking) plus there are 2 others very close. Great schools, both public and private. Midway between 2 hospitals(God forbid you'll ever need them) less than 15 minutes to great beaches or the hills. Lots of local parks, check out The Wilfred Taylor Reserve on States Road...Dog school, archery club, R/C racecar track, miniture railway for rides with the kids, every sort of sport represented at the beck end, equestrian area (dressage), bbq's available on site, and great walks if you've got any energy left. This is a place you'll want to return to, frequently. T.R. comes under the Morphett Vale district, again, quite nice but older in design.

 

 

Wanted to put up more images but they're all too big. Still, hope these 'whet your whistle'.

[Robbiep]

Thanks, much appreciated!

 

How is the public transport from Woodcroft to the CBD?

 

Also, is there a safe cycle route to the CBD?

[DougM]

As far as I know, the bus service is quite good but can't qualify/comment on it's timeliness. As for cycling, all I can say is that one of my colleagues from a few years back, used to cycle from Mile End to Lonsdale every day. The cycle track he used ran alongside the Expressway. Unfortunatelt no trains stop nearby. You'd have to go to Christies Beach for that service. Electrification of the line should be finalized later this year. Bikes can be taken on trains.

[barbaitch]

Adelaide has always been known as the 'Twenty-Minute City', because it only takes 20 minutes to get anywhere (either 20mins walk diagonally from corner to corner of the City of Adelaide, or a 20mins drive from Adelaide CBD to southern beaches, hills areas or open roads leading to the rest of Oz! In my opinion, Adelaide and surrounding suburbs have something for everyone.

[NicF]

Adelaide has always been known as the 'Twenty-Minute City', because it only takes 20 minutes to get anywhere (either 20mins walk diagonally from corner to corner of the City of Adelaide, or a 20mins drive from Adelaide CBD to southern beaches, hills areas or open roads leading to the rest of Oz! In my opinion, Adelaide and surrounding suburbs have something for everyone.

 

It's very much not the 20 minute city these days. With all the lights around you won't get that far from the CBD in 20 minutes unless you start right at the edge of the direction you want to go in. It can take 20 minutes just to get from one end of north terrace to the other.

 

OP you will find that you will spend a fair bit longer travelling from the places you mention to get to Unley and the CBD than you do currently. You would have to either drive or catch the train (once it's open again) in to the city and then a bus or tram out again to get to Unley. Your wife could catch the train in to the city, which should be quite quick on the new train line, but you do need to factor in the time taken to get to and from the train station. If your wife's work is near the train station then this might not be too bad but if she is the other side of the city then it could take a while. Cycling in to to work would not be possible from that distance, although you could cycle to the train station and catch the train then cycle out again. With young kids the extra time commuting may not be ideal, although only you can know how you would feel about that.

 

My suggestion would be to rent a holiday home down that way for a week and have a go at doing the actual commute. That way you get to see exactly what it is like for yourself rather than being told what it might be like by those of us that don't do it. Even those that do commute from those areas will perceive it differently. It would be an expense but less expensive than buying a house and discovering you had made a mistake.

[jim and adel]

It's very much not the 20 minute city these days. With all the lights around you won't get that far from the CBD in 20 minutes unless you start right at the edge of the direction you want to go in. It can take 20 minutes just to get from one end of north terrace to the other.

 

:notworthy:

[Robbiep]

Thanks for the advice guys!

 

Regrading the commute.. i was previously living in Sydney and stayed about 45kms from the Sydney CBD. My daily commute was between 3.5 - 4 hours a day, which excluded taking and fetching kids from daycare.

 

After moving to Adelaide, my daily commute dropped to 1 hour a day, which includes taking and fetching kids from daycare.

 

So hopefully ill be comfortable with something in between these two commuting times

[Guest Kennymclachlan]

Hi Robbie, I can tell you about Seaford Rise. It's a lovely area - clean, well kept and friendly. Decent shopping Centre, library and several schools. The centre area has long term plans for expansion which look good. Right next to a number of lovely beaches - Moana, Maslin and Port Willunga a touch further down. Throwing distance of McLaren Vale wine region and the Collonades Centre at Noarlunga.

 

Rail-link to Seaford will open soon making transport to/from the city much better (although will probably impact house prices in the area soon).

 

Childcare is an issue in the area though as more people are moving to the area (including Seaford Meadows) and the childcare facilities are struggling to cope (particularly OHSC). I can give you a better run down on the schools if you decide this is an area you are serious about.

 

We've looked at many areas (man of the ones you mentioned in fact) but kept coming back to Seaford Rise as our first choice.

 

My wife commutes daily to the city by car and, like any commute of that distance, there are good and bad days. The main issues are around the city itself - the time added to get to that blackspot area from here would be pretty negligible in my opinion.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Kennymclachlan
spelling! additional note