What are Hallet Cove & Port Noarlunga like or are there better places to live ?

[Guest richdownunder]

Hi,

 

We are considering moving to Adelaide but sadly have not had the opportunity to visit yet so am doing a lot of research online about where to live etc. I've been spending a lot of time looking at various options and quite like the look of Hallet Cove and Port Noarlunga, but as with all things it's better to get the real picture from people who live there or no the areas. I'd therefore really appreciate some views on these areas or if there are better places we could look at. Our priorities are:

 

- Good primary schools for our 6 year old daughter

- Houses within our budget of $550,000

- Good commuting links into CBD

- Family orientated suburb - OH will be at home so need to ensure she's not isolated

 

I welcome any comments and really want to here the good and the bad and also what other areas we could consider.

 

Thanks so much,

 

Rich

[Guest vikkiann]

How far out of the CBD would be your maximum distance or maximum traveling time?

We are in Aldinga, which is pretty much as far south as you can go. It takes my hubby 40 minutes to get to the city, you can drive to Noarlunga and get the train, which is a bargain and only costs $2 a day to park there!

For $550k you'd get a palace here!

Whilst we are a bit far out of it, we have the country feeling, gorgeous beaches and a family feeling community. Adelaide is a big place with loads of good suburbs.

 

Good luck

 

Vikki

[Guest richdownunder]

Hi, thanks for this. I'll take a look at Aldinga now. For me 40 to 45 mins would be the maximum commute as the idea of moving to Australia is to spend more time with the family.

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

Both Hallett Cove and Port Noarlunga are stunning places! We are about 2 minutes south of Port Noarlunga in Seaford Meadows, a new suburb.

Houses are brilliant, it's peaceful, you have the great beaches within a 5-10 minute walk.

Seaford shopping centre is a 2 minute drive (20min walk) and it has everything you need.

 

We looked at Hallett Cove, but at the time, there wasn't many houses seemed to be up for rent, so I wouldn't know about buying.

 

Sorry I can't help you more about schools, but I'm sure somebody else will .

[jo_marnes]

both are lovely.

 

Hallett Cove has 3 primary schools, not sure about Pt Noarlunga.

 

Both will have good housing within your budget.

 

Hallett Cove nearer to city with 2 train stations (free parking also).

 

Pt Noarlunga has a better beach. But is also nearer to Noarlunga which is not as nice an area.

[zebedee]

Quite interesting as both those areas seem very popular with the Poms In Adelaide crew, to the point that I am not sure anyone lives anywhere else! I've been looking a lot closer to the CBD - Fulham in particular but you certainly seem to get more for your money down South in Pt N and HC - though we are looking at renting to start with. I am just worried about that long commute. Really don't want a second car and don't want to be taking an hour or more.

 

Hmmm, our second house sit is in Moana so we'll get a good chance to try out a few test commutes.

[NicF]

Quite interesting as both those areas seem very popular with the Poms In Adelaide crew, to the point that I am not sure anyone lives anywhere else! I've been looking a lot closer to the CBD - Fulham in particular but you certainly seem to get more for your money down South in Pt N and HC - though we are looking at renting to start with. I am just worried about that long commute. Really don't want a second car and don't want to be taking an hour or more.

 

Hmmm, our second house sit is in Moana so we'll get a good chance to try out a few test commutes.

 

I live somewhe else!!!! And so do a few others, although I have to admit not nearly as many as live down south. I know the eastern suburbs pretty well and can provide advise on these if you are not tied to the idea of living near th beach like most other people on here seem to be.

[zebedee]

Hee hee - well, we want to be not to far from the beach, but not with a big commute to the CBD - which is why Fulham seems quite good - bike ride to the beach, linear park to the CBD, etc.

 

The other area, which along way from the beach but seems lovely and leafy is Athelstone, just been up there today to look at a few places. Like the hills so close......

 

(I don't want to thread hi-jack though so will PM you!)

[jtct]

Britville on Sea - avoid them like the plague:biglaugh: (that's why we're a few miles inland up in the hills!)

 

Only joking, they fit your check list fine.

[Guest richdownunder]

Hi, thanks for all the good feedback so far. I'm not really concerned about being right near the beach, saying that, no more than a 20 min drive would be great, so any recommendation on a hills location would be most welcome. I've looked at Eden Hills which looks quite nice, but again the internet can only show you so much, so again all comments most welcome. My ideal though would be a maximum train journey of about 35 mins. Thanks so much again, Rich,

[jtct]

Eden Hills and Bellevue heights are either side of Shepherds Hill Road and have 'sea glimpses' if you are in the right spot.

 

Blackwood is at the top of that road and has a nice 'village' feel and lots of cafes and boutiques.

 

If you turn left you go towards Hawthorndene, Belair and Glenalta - all nice suburbs but lots of trees and therefore bush fire risk areas (some parts can be isolated with poor access routes in the event of a fire) You can catch the train from these places to the city.

 

If you turn right you come through Blackwood Park and Coromandel Valley - very pretty (and good IB primary school- my granddaughters go there) and you eventually reach Black Road with easy access to Craigburn Farm, Flagstaff Hill, Aberfoyle Park, Happy Valley and Chandler's Hill.

 

We're in Aberfoyle Park and love the many reserves, parks, schools and the Hub - with excellent shops, Library, places to eat, Swim Centre, Tennis Club, Sports Park and nearby gyms and swim Centre. It is also a Park and Ride centre with express buses to the City.

 

Being close to the South Road you can get down south to lovely quiet sandy beaches and McLaren Vale in less than half an hour and on to Victor Harbour and Goolwa for great days out. You also have a choice of routes to the city if driving. Hallett Cove is the neqarest beach as the crow flies but not a good beach for swimming. We prefer Brighton/Seacliffe - similar to Glenelg but much quieter. Glenelg is great for socialising and shopping and you can catch the tram from there to the city.

[trevorpayne]

Personally I think both areas are great for families and both have a lot of good things going for them.

Hallet Cove is around 10-15 min nearer the city and has rail links and a beach.

Port Noarlunga is a little further away but has a good shopping centre fantastic beach and beautiful beaches nearby and also 2 min over commercial Rd you feel like your in the country.

Probably a little biased as I live at Port Noarlunga Sth but the beaches and the esplanade are fantastic down here and worth the couple of minutes extra on the train.

also they are extending the railway to Seaford this year and as far as I know continuing on to Aldinga in the near future.

Also with 500 k you would have no trouble finding a lovely home in either area.

You may also want to look at Brighton as this would be even closer.

Good luck.

[elainew]

Look at Grange,Henley Beach,Glenelg,Brighton you'd like those too. On the coast. :-)

[Guest jess-doug]

Look at Grange,Henley Beach,Glenelg,Brighton you'd like those too. On the coast. :-)

 

 

I agree with Elaine, the western suburbs are better for beachside living in my opinion. And much closer to the city.

I'm not sure why so many people on this forum live down south... and I guess it just keeps growing as these suburbs are always recommended on here!

 

Beachside suburbs in the west: Henley, Grange, West Beach - even further along to Semaphore and Largs Bay is nice.

Fulham is not far from Henley and Grange, just a suburb back towards the city.

[Guest USA soon just SA]

Jess, I agree with what you are saying in that we had to look really hard to find a short term rental that was actually IN the city (on the west-ish part of the city), and not far down south. We found one, and are looking forward to introducing our daughters to city living. We will keep the group posted as to how we like the rental, but for now we can say that the pics look great, and the owner seems nice. We arrive October 22, and look forward to putting some faces with the names that we have read so many contributions from. You guys feel like family already!

[Cherrypecker]

I'm not sure why so many people on this forum live down south... and I guess it just keeps growing as these suburbs are always recommended on here!

 

I wrote a long, and probably contentious reply to this comment, but decided to delete it. However, I would simply like to say that there are huge differences between living in the southern suburbs, and elsewhere. Different people want different things from life, and for their children.

 

To anyone who is coming to SA soon, take a lot of time to choose where you settle. South Australia offers a huge variety of DIFFERENT places to live.

 

Paul

[Guest smit]

I agree with Elaine, the western suburbs are better for beachside living in my opinion. And much closer to the city.

I'm not sure why so many people on this forum live down south... and I guess it just keeps growing as these suburbs are always recommended on here!

 

Beachside suburbs in the west: Henley, Grange, West Beach - even further along to Semaphore and Largs Bay is nice.

Fulham is not far from Henley and Grange, just a suburb back towards the city.

Everyone has opinion and everyone has a budget. The suburbs you mention, especially the first three are more expensive than the more southern suburbs , so budget is a factor. The beaches from Port Noarlunga down have more waves , more scenery and also drive on beaches, a difference from the western suburbs beaches. I personally find beaches with no waves quite boring, but that is my opinion.

 

Now, IF i could have North Adelaide next to Port Noarlunga and have a house on the esplanade..............

[snivag]

Look at Grange,Henley Beach,Glenelg,Brighton you'd like those too. On the coast. :-)

These suburb are great if you like living under a flight path.

As smit said, no waves in those suburbs so no good for our family,(price had nothing to do with it, honestly ) your best bet is to arrive then have a good look around and make a decision then. Good luck with the move

[NicF]

I wrote a long, and probably contentious reply to this comment, but decided to delete it. However, I would simply like to say that there are huge differences between living in the southern suburbs, and elsewhere. Different people want different things from life, and for their children.

 

To anyone who is coming to SA soon, take a lot of time to choose where you settle. South Australia offers a huge variety of DIFFERENT places to live.

 

Paul

 

And some of them are even not near a beach.

[Diane]

And some of them are even not near a beach.

 

..and some of us prefer trees, hills and grass to sand, rocks and shark-infested waters! Takes all sorts, and I never understand how someone can make a choice of somewhere to live based on the opinions of a group of strangers on an internet forum, who all come from different types of places in the UK, and have no idea what type of people they are advising, or what sort of place they are coming from.

 

Horses for courses, keep your options open and decide for yourself after you've got here, is my advice!

[Guest The Morleys]

Hi

We have lived in Hallett cove and now live in Seaford Rise which is close to Port Noarlunga South. This is just my views so knowbody shout at me please. Hallett cove is great and has a great rocky beach but we found ourselves always driving to brighton to go to the beach, this is only 15 mins but you do get spoilt and now we live in seaford it takes 5 mins. To the city from Seaford on a good run it can be 40 mins. Seaford is 20 mins south of Hallett cove and much flatter if you like walking with the kids etc. Housing is also cheaper as its further from the city. Come next year the train will be coming here and in approx 4 years the freeway will be going both ways which will be just up the road. Its very good for famalies and the beach, 5o mins to victor harbour and feels safe. There are many people willing to help and welcome you into their fold,you will not be without good friends. Try the poms in oz meet which good friends of ours Alan + Caroline and Rob and Mel run.

Good Luck!

Marcus

[Guest smit]

..and some of us prefer trees, hills and grass to sand, rocks and shark-infested waters! Takes all sorts, and I never understand how someone can make a choice of somewhere to live based on the opinions of a group of strangers on an internet forum, who all come from different types of places in the UK, and have no idea what type of people they are advising, or what sort of place they are coming from.

 

Horses for courses, keep your options open and decide for yourself after you've got here, is my advice!

sound advice.......but to balance the shark remark id say snake and mozzie infested trees and grass...lol!!

[jimmyskinner]

Best thing to do is to come and have a good look round, everyone has different needs and like different things, i wouldn't want to live any further south than Brighton but thats just me.

[Diane]

sound advice.......but to balance the shark remark id say snake and mozzie infested trees and grass...lol!!

 

LOL Perhaps I should mention here that the only brown snake I've seen since moving here eight years ago was in the dunes at the beach.... Could just be that grass makes for better hiding places though!

[keldaz]

Completely agree with Diane on this one, but I'm going to add my opinion anyway. Hallet Cove and Port Noarlunga are very pretty, we love the look of them and often drive there, but are too far out to live, in our opinion. Plus if I had a $1 for the amount of times we've met or read of Brits going to live there, we have a serious $ collection by now. Nothing wrong with that, but we lived for years surrounded by Brits, its called the UK.

We wanted to live by the beach, but be in easy reach of CBD and have a shortish commute to work (around 20mins max), mainly due to large UK commutes, bored of that now. We have city 20 mins away and beach 10 mins, so not too bad.

I like a phrase my OH used the other day whilst discussing Adelaide general, 'Adelaide has some nice pockets within it'. Its just a case of searching out the one to suit you. We live in Findon, which has good and bad bits, one road over from us is lovely, the road after that is a total s***hole.

If we were looking to move on, which we will at some point, we would be looking at Fulham Gardens, Lockerlys, Parts of Grange, Parts of Fulham. We spend a lot of time at Semaphore and Largs, but wouldn't live there, too far out, having said that Semaphore is one of the only places that has lived up to expectation here. We took a serious look at West Beach, we loved the look of the place, but were warned of summer sewage smell, the warning was correct, avoid like the plague. Eastern suburbs are fine, but to us their just the West with no beach. I will of course stand by to have my bottom smacked.