How did you decide which area to move to?

[Guest jill wright]

Hi all;)

 

Taking great interest in reading all the posts on this forum. One thing though how an earth did/do you decide which area in Adelaide to move to:arghh:. Espeicially as we (I suspect like many others out there) will be going over on a one way ticket when we get the visa hving never been to Australia before. Seaford and Hallett Cove seem popular as does Aldinga . Any insights recommendations would be very helpful

 

The Wrights(awaiting sa sponsorship anytime now)

[Selah]

Having just returned from a 4 week reccie, all I can say is you really won't know until you get there! Northern & Southern suburbs are very different in feel. You can do a really good wander of North & south suburbs in a couple of days. I think you'll know when you get there. I too really liked Hallett cove - thought it was a beautiful oasis but for us Northeastern suburbs have won out. Seems easier to get to the city and I like the city. However, what I thought before I went and what I thought after I saw were two different things. Go with an open mind and explore!

 

Liz

[Guest louiesmum]

Hi Jill & Family,

We have visited Adelaide before so have a little insight into some of the areas, however visiting them and day to day living will probably be totally different. What we are planning to do (if poss) is get OAA, then look around for a longer term rental before/if we buy in Adelaide. Some of our Oz friends who live in other states, keep on asking us why we want to buy if you rent you have no ties & can move if you want, I think renting is more common in Australia. Hope this helps a little. Good Luck

[Guest Django]

One word.........research!!!!

 

 

We have narrowed down where we intend to move to, to 4 or 5 suburbs. Until we get there we cannot do anymore as you won't know what is right for you until you see it for yourselves. However, it comes down to 3 criteria in my book.

1. Work

I don't see the point of living miles form your place of work. You need to research where you can work so find out where you will be able to find work. The less you have to travel the more time you can spend as a family and take advantage of what South Australia has to offer.

2. Schools

Research the schools and find out about catchment areas. If you want your children to go to certain schools then you need to live near them.

3. Affordability

Find out what you can expect to pay for your home. You will get less house for your money the closer to the city and coast you are.

 

You could add a 4th but you will never be too far away from a golf course :biglaugh:

 

Pete

[Selah]

Django is quite right as to his considerations but what really threw us was we could get a lovely sea-view home with swimming pool and 4 bedrooms in Hallet Cove (5 mins from the beach) for less than what we will pay in Greenwith or Golden Grove (Northeastern) which is 30 minutes away from a not as nice beach. We live in Cornwall, 10 mins from beach and were shocked to find beach front and cost are not necessarily in line with what you would expect. We also however, made our decision based upon schools we thought were right for our family and work. Don't want to contradict but we were shocked to find we'd get more house for our money in Hallett Cove than in in Northern Subs with no sea view whatsoever!

[duncan-clan]

my choice on where to leave in aelaide was simple my penpal live's in parafield gardens and so does most of her family...it made sence to be near some i know if i have any problems ive got someone close for help as for renting or buying in mawson lakes (north adelaide) seems to be my choice (also have friends in sailsbury) but when i come to buy i will be looking for some big place in price of $600,000 need big house with garage after living in small two bed house in dagenham essex or look on www.realestate.com.au for ideas on property

 

alex

[Guest sarahsmartiepants]

Yes it is sensible to look round when you get here, hang out at the local shops and malls. Also sit outside the schools and people watch!

If you have never been before,dont conjour up a pic of what you think it will be like, lots do and are disapointed!

sarah

[Guest Libby1971]

I agree with some of the postings here.

 

I hadn't been to Adelaide before we got the visa. We had done stacks of research in the UK and looked at other people's opinions. When we got here we drove around for days (to the kids absolute disgust) trying to get a feel for suburbs and streets in suburbs. Places that I thought I wanted to live based on info I'd collected while in the UK didn't seem right when I got here and actually saw them. They weren't bad but the feel wasn't right.

 

We had a long drive in the UK to and from work and one of our criteria was that we wanted to be closer to work so we could spend time together. We've got that sorted.

 

We also wanted to have a house that we could afford to run/ purchase on one wage if necessary. Both of us want to work but we didn't want to run into probs if one of us took a little longer to find a job.

 

We wanted to be closer to the beach. We were 2 hours from coast in UK, in any direction, and now we are 10/15 mins which is great for us.

 

Anything else was a bonus.

 

Libby

[Guest BJF]

We didn't really have much choice on where we live, one of the joys of military life, we were offered one house in Parafield and one in Northgate, looked at the house plans to each and chose the house in Northgate.

 

We'll be here now for the next two years (we can refuse a posting as Tori is in her final two years of education) unless of course we get offered Washington, USA or somewhere back in UK but not holding our breath on either postings.

[Guest dglamoore]

We narrowed down 3 suburbs from the uk and now don't live in any of them :v_SPIN: We had a good look around when we got here - never been to Adelaide, just knew we wanted to live near the beach and near an industrial area for Greg to set up work.

 

Luckily we got a great unit on Lonsdale for Greg and then fell for a rental we saw so thats how we ended up where we live now. Just gets better every day and 7 months on we still go round other areas to take a look and will carry on doing this until we decide to buy but for now it's Port Noarlunga South Esplanade for us!!

 

A lot will depend on what sort of things you are looking for and what your budget is too.

 

Lisa:cute:

[Guest Rob and Clare]

After looking on Real Estate before we came over we really looked at Hallett Cove also, but for us it was just to far from the city, we stayed with some friends who'd been here for 10 years in Gawler, and they showed us a lot of the areas they thought we would like, and we chose mawson lakes. For us it made sense as it's purpose built town, with our own pub, banks, cafe's etc all within a gentle walk around the lakes and landscaped surroundings, the beaches are 15 mins drive down the expressway (as adelaide is a long and thin city it'd be hard not to be 15mins from a beach), and most of the larger manufacturing companies are based to the north, now we've built a new house and hopefully will be getting a pool for next summer.

 

 

But like in the UK, it's all about location, location, location.. Make a list of what you want and need, good schools ? Shops Close by ? good transport ? cost ? beach ? city ? views ? and see which suburb meets your requirements the most.

 

Have fun choosing, the city is your oyster.

 

Rob and Clare

[Guest jill wright]

Hi Rob Clare etc

 

Thanks for the feedback from my posting we're find it really useful. Its really great reading about the different areas you all have decided to settle or are hoping to settle in and what you based your decision on. A question for Louiesmum I,m probably showing my ignorance here but whats an OAA.

 

Another question too to all those who went or are going on a reccie first if you spent 3-4 weeks there did you book a hotel,rent a house or holiday home????

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply

 

Jill,Phil,Lucy,Daniel and Thomas.

[Guest soggy]

Hi Rob Clare etc

 

Thanks for the feedback from my posting we're find it really useful. Its really great reading about the different areas you all have decided to settle or are hoping to settle in and what you based your decision on. A question for Louiesmum I,m probably showing my ignorance here but whats an OAA.

 

Another question too to all those who went or are going on a reccie first if you spent 3-4 weeks there did you book a hotel,rent a house or holiday home????

 

Thanks for taking the time to reply

 

Jill,Phil,Lucy,Daniel and Thomas.

 

Hi, on arrival accomodation is what OAA stands for it is a service provided by South Australian state goverment for new arrivals, it is local goverment housing, basic but cheap and it is partly luck weather you get it and where you go. Have a look at the SA web site at http://www.immigration.sa.gov.au choose skilled worker from the menu on the left then services.

 

Simon

[Guest louiesmum]

Hi

 

I think someones already answered your Question re OAA (On Arrival Accomodation) they also do a Meet & greet service where volunteers (I think they are anyway!!) meet you at the airport & take you to your accomodation all this is found at www.immigration.sa.gov.au both services have very positive feedback.

[Guest Russfamily]

We phoned up a few real estate agents to get to low down on places to buy in, we also noted that port adelaide had a big development going on with the new apartments and the navel docs. the agents said that the western suburbs were the place to be, so we decided to go with that. Then we wanted to buy a house with the wow factor, which will all ways be wanted by some one else. so we decided to go with a sea view and ended up in Largs Bay.

[Guest Pam]

It's true that you get a feel for certain places when you're actually here. We have ende up buying in the area we were looking at whilst in the UK and are very happy with the decision. Schools are important to consider, especially high schools.

 

Pam