which suburb ??

[Gazza1000]

Hi

 

I am sure this has probably been asked before but I am after some idea which areas of Adelaide are the best to look at for schools, ease of access,

facilities to the CBD etc

I have a daughter at level 7 & a son at level 3 so I realise they will probably have to go to separate schools

My wife is looking at an opportunity at the RAH likely to be from July

We had a look at Mawson Lakes on a recent recce visit but would appreciate feedback from people who are based there

Any advice on other areas would be great too !

cheers

Gazza1000

[Blossom]

Welcome to the forum. Your first couple of posts will not show until a member of the admin team has checked them first, due to spammers and people signing up with multiple accounts. :-)

[NicF]

I really like Mawson Lakes but when we were looking we didn't like the high school it was zoned for and we weren't sure if we would be able to afford to send the kids to private school. My OH worked out at Mawson Lakes for a few months when we first moved here. There is a train station at Mawson Lakes so travel to the city is easy, and there are a fair few buses to Paradise Interchange from where you can get almost anywhere.

 

I have to get off to work now but I will post later about other potential areas to consider. If you are thinking Mawson Lakes does that mean you are not bothered about being near the beach?

[Gazza1000]

Hi NicF

 

Yes not too bothered about being right on a beach - I guess there all within a shortish drive anyway ? We live near the beach now but found the kids get bored with it after a while so only want to go in summer ! I presume the high school there is Endeavour college ? We also need a Primary school but assume there is a couple nearby to look at ?

How long does it take on the train to the city ? How far is the walk then to RAH ?

 

Gazza1000

[NicF]

Actually Endeavour college is a private school, which does look good (apart from the religious aspect), but we weren't sure we would be able to afford the fees. I can't remember what the local state high school was, but we weren't keen.

[Diane]

Have a look around at the North Eastern suburbs - Golden Grove, Tea Tree Gully, Fairview Park, Highbury, Athelstone - all the way down that side. I would say anywhere down there within easy reach of the O-Bahn would be ideal for commuting to the RAH - if you're not familiar with the O-Bahn, it is kind of like a cross between a bus and a train: normal busses run on the roads then when they get to an O-Bahn interchange they go onto tracks and go much faster. There are Obahn interchanges at Tea Tree Plaza, Paradise and Klemzig. From where I live in Highbury I can either catch a bus which takes maybe ten minutes to Paradise interchange, then another ten into the city on the OBahn - without changing busses (stops right outside the hospital), or drive five minutes to Paradise, park there and be in the city in ten minutes.

 

There are also fantastic state and private schools on that side of town. Both High and Primary School.

[NicF]

What kind of budget are you looking at and what other things are important to you in an area to live in? I agree with Diane that the North Eastern suburbs are worth a look. I really like Athelstone, but again we weren't keen on the zoned high school (Charles Campbell college). We do know people who live over that way who's children go to out of zone state schools but we didn't want to risk it. We also considered Banksia Park and surrounding area but in the end ruled it out due to distance to the mother in law.

 

Some of the suburbs closer to the city are also really nice but can be expensive. Places like Norwood, Unley, North Adelaide, Burnside, Marryattville, Linden Park, Rose Park, Toorak Gardens, all worth a look if money no object. My OH would have like to live in some of them but they were out of our budget so we kept going further east and north until we hit housing within our budget but in a zone for a high school we liked.

[Gazza1000]

Thanks for the great advice - we will have a look at all the suburbs listed !

 

gazza1000

[snifter]

Diane and NicF make a lot of sense re the suburbs they mention.

 

I really like Magill and out that way (we have family living there) and its not so far to get into the CBD for them for work. However, housing wise, while renting may be fine when it comes to buying in that area (or those nearby), the prices are a fair bit more than what you'd pay further out or down south. How much you could afford if you are planning to buy in the future is worth considering when renting in more pricey suburbs out that way and those surrounding them. You may move into a lovely area, great schools and then not be able to afford to buy within a 20-30 minute drive of it a year or two later and so have to either change schools or spend time back and forth on school runs etc.

 

I also like the Mitcham area (lots of lovely suburbs round there) but again, pricing may be high for buying.

[adelaidenow]

While the O-Bahn is a fantastic service to the City and currently to RAH (East end of North Tce) you may wish to keep in mind that the New RAH which opens in 2016 is on the West end of North Tce. The train will be very convenient to the new location. As far as I can tell there are no plans to reroute the O-Bahn to go down the West of North Tce, nor to extend the tram track East on Nth Tce to speed up the East - West commute down Nth Tce (although there is a free bus service). This will add about 20mins to the journey in peak hr - probably faster to walk!

 

I don't think anyone answered this part of your question. Current walk from train station to 'Old' RAH is 10-15mins.

 

If you like the newer development feel of Mawson Lakes you could look at the new Western areas such as being developed around Cheltenham or Bowden, which would be a walk to new RAH. Adelaide High is just West of the City and is meant to be a good public school.

[Diane]

.... Adelaide High is just West of the City and is meant to be a good public school.

 

Although the alternative if AH is oversubscribed is the new super school - the Roma Mitchell is it? - which doesn't have quite such a good rep. I know there were a lot of people living in North Adelaide (the suburb - which is like the Mayfair of Adelaide) who were pretty unimpressed when their offspring were told the RM was their new catchment area school, rather than AH!

[NicF]

Adelaide High is just West of the City and is meant to be a good public school.

 

Adelaide High is an excellent school but much of the zone for it is east of the city. I have a colleague who lives at Maylands who's child goes to Adelaide High as there zoned school and another colleague who lives in Brompton who's children could not go to Adelaide High because they were not in the zone. The zone has changed recently, although my understanding is it has extended North rather than west. School zones are definitely worth checking on http://www.myschool.edu.au before committing to an area.

[NicF]

Diane and NicF make a lot of sense re the suburbs they mention.

 

I really like Magill and out that way (we have family living there) and its not so far to get into the CBD for them for work. However, housing wise, while renting may be fine when it comes to buying in that area (or those nearby), the prices are a fair bit more than what you'd pay further out or down south. How much you could afford if you are planning to buy in the future is worth considering when renting in more pricey suburbs out that way and those surrounding them. You may move into a lovely area, great schools and then not be able to afford to buy within a 20-30 minute drive of it a year or two later and so have to either change schools or spend time back and forth on school runs etc.

 

I also like the Mitcham area (lots of lovely suburbs round there) but again, pricing may be high for buying.

 

I haven't commented on suburbs south of the CBD as I don't really know them or the commuting options. However I would say that house prices tend to drop the further from the CBD you go. This is as true of the North East as it is of the southern suburbs. I definitely agree that looking at house prices is as important as looking at rental prices when deciding where to live. We could have rented in quite a lot of the suburbs I mentioned but would not have been able to afford to buy anything we would want to live in. Hence why we ended up in a Rostrevor. That and the fact that it felt right - still really nice but not quite so posh and very green but a more wild, natural green rather than the manicured green you get around some of the other eastern suburbs.

[Gazza1000]

Thanks for all the very informative replies !

 

Gazza1000