So I know this has been asked before.....

So I know this has been asked many times before but I guess everyone is different.

I want to do some research before arriving in Adelaide in September but not sure how I start ruling stuff out. There are so many suburbs!

I am moving on my own, I am 28, I know no one in the city at present and I will be working as a nurse though no job as yet. From what I have found about nurses wages online I reckon I can afford up to $400 per week on rent. So I realise that makes the search rather vague, which is probably why I don't know where to start.

Does anyone have any advice on where I start, what I should be looking for, where not to go or anything else really.

Thank you

What visa are you coming on. Have you applied to any hospitals for work, as where you live may depend on where you can secure work.

I know that several of the State Hospitals are not recruiting from outside the Health Service.

If you are on your own then I'd say to see where you find work and go from there. No real fun commute wise working in daub Port Noarlunga and living in West Lakes or some such.

Personally if I were in my 20's coming over I'd not want to be out living in the suburbs and would prefer to be in or around Glenelg/Brighton/Henley Beach way or somewhere around the CBD. Hubby used to live in the CBD in his 20's and it was great being 5 mins walk from Central Market and 10 mins from the main streets and parklands. We used to take the tram to Glenelg when we fancied a beach visit and walk into the CBD for meals out, drinks, theatre etc.

On your own you have options like a house share also which would be cheaper again. Glenelg can be good for that or a small apartment or some such.

What do you want from the place you live? Do you want to be by the beach, somewhere with lots of nightlife close by, good public transport links? The best place to start is to think about what you want from where you are living and rule out places that don't fit then go and look round once you are here and decide which you like best.

$400 per week is a good budget for rent. You should be able to get a nice place in or close to the city for that.

Now all I have to do is hope the rough sums I've done are about right. If not I'm screwed. But It's hard to working out all the living costs and exactly what my wages will be.

Consider the inner west - including Bowden, Croydon etc. The new RAH (Royal Adelaide Hospital - brand spanking new and possibly the most technologically advanced hospital in the country/hemisphere) will be opening very soon and these suburbs offer great transport options for getting there (5 mins on the tram or train in most cases). They're also very close to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Unless you're desperate for a full-on beach lifestyle (most likely with a daily commute) I'd be looking at the CBD or the inner suburbs if I were still in my 20s (sadly mid 30s now, not sure where that time went). You'll probably find it easier to meet people and build up a social life that way too.

I reckon Bowden would be a great choice - it's a TOD (Transit Oriented Development) just on the outskirts of the CBD, right next to parklands, tram, train, buses, bike paths directly into the city. Lots of young people, apartment-style living, good community atmosphere which is still growing and very close to great pubs, live music etc if that's your thing. Well worth checking out (https://lifemoreinteresting.com.au/).

Mile End, Hindmarsh and Thebarton are also inner west suburbs worth checking out but are still somewhat industrial (Thebarton more so) so possibly a bit more hit and miss if you're not in the country to check them out personally.

Alternatively a CBD apartment could be a great choice but the city-based apartment scene is still (fairly rapidly) growing and I hear that some buildings can be a bit empty as investors have bought many of the apartments without being able to (or necessarily trying to) let them out.

Slightly to the north of the city (but not in the infamous 'Northern Suburbs'), Prospect is also worth a look if you can find a rental/share - although as far as transport options go there's only really the bus. Luckily it's only 5 mins or so from North Adelaide and 10 mins from the CBD.

As someone else mentioned, Glenelg and neighbouring Glengowrie are ok. Glenelg's a bit of a beach-side touristy destination with pubs, shops etc but it could be argued that the main commercial area (Jetty Road) has gone a bit downhill recently and can seem just a little bit rowdy some nights. It's also still a 30-40 minute commute to/from the city by bus or tram.

Or, you could always look for house shares on Gumtree etc and see what comes up.

One word of warning - don't be fooled by maps. If it looks close it's probably bloody miles away by UK standards. Aussies seem less daunted by long commutes and drives but in my opinion there's ​no point wasting your life in a traffic jam if you don't have to. Many poms move down south to Christie's Beach, Noarlunga, Seaford etc for the beach lifestyle and good value housing but they're at least a 40-60 minute commute from the city - and public transport isn't great by UK standards (although it's very cheap in comparison). Plus, nightlife gets a bit limited outside of the city, unless the local pub is all you need.

My opinion is that the southern lifestyle is fantastic for families but if I were on my own I'd definitely want to be closer to the city. A lot of talk on the forums is about moving down south (as I think the majority of migrants are families) but I'd definitely think about the innermost suburbs or the CBD itself. Unless you move to an eastern suburb, a great beach is never more than 10-15 mins drive away...

But, all of the above aside, where you end up working will likely affect where you want to live. Metropolitan Adelaide (i.e the area covered by the suburbs) is absolutely huge so choose wisely. Let us know if you secure a job and that'll help narrow things down a little. Otherwise if you plan to get here first and then job hunt, stay somewhere as central as possible to keep your options open and give yourself a good base for job/house hunting.

Best of luck with the move!

Thank you so much for this advice! I will take it all on board and certainly look into it further. My 3 applications I had lodged for jobs at the Royal Adelaide have all been rejected today so it's back to the drawing board and more job hunting as a 1st step.

Thank you so much for this advice! I will take it all on board and certainly look into it further. My 3 applications I had lodged for jobs at the Royal Adelaide have all been rejected today so it's back to the drawing board and more job hunting as a 1st step.

Ah, bad luck but keep trying and something's bound to work out. They'll be transitioning from the old RAH to the new RAH in the next few months so that might cause some positions to come up.

Not sure what it's like for nursing but the wife and I had great help from recruitment agencies when we first came over - if there are any specialised recruiters in Adelaide then they'd be worth a try.

I'm not sure how it works with your visa but do you have to secure a job before you head over, or do you have the funds to head over and job hunt whilst you're here? It might make it easier if you could put an Adelaide address on your applications as at least they'd know you're genuine. Unless you're from a particularly specialised branch of nursing then being overseas at the time of application might be enough for you to be put on the 'thanks but no thanks' pile.

Also, I've mentioned it before in other threads, but Adelaide recruiters seem to prefer longer CVs than UK ones. I know back home that a 2 (or even a 1) page CV is the norm and anything longer is considered sacrilege. But over here I think people expect at least 3-4 pages so that you can include more detail about previous roles. Might be something to think about and/or do a bit of research into.

Where are you coming over from by the way?

Thank you. Coming on a 190 visa so don't need a job before I arrive but can't live for too long without one. Also makes fixing accommodation more tricky without knowing where your commuting to. I have temporary accommodation for 6 weeks when I arrive. I'm coming from a town just outside Swindon at the beginning of August. I'm definitely not specialist in anything so maybe the location and when I can start is putting them off?

Shall look into recruitment agencies I think as it's hard to tell whether what you've submitted is right/ meets Australian expectations.