How is life in Adelaide?

[Guest nikki davies]

Hi all

 

We are a family with 3 lively boys, ranging in age from 5 - 13. We are just beginning the migration process. Originally we had wanted to go to Queensland, but our occupation is only being accepted in South Australia. Can anyone give us some honest opinions on the area, we want to be near the coast - Glenelg looks nice - we plan on running our own digital print studio - photo-art on to canvas (which we already do over here in the UK). Any advice information on areas, schools etc would be greatly appreciated.

 

Do many home have pools? Been looking at houses for sale on line, and many don't seem to have them - look forward to hearing from anyone who has made the move, who may have similar family etc....

[Guest graandjac]

:)The whole area questions are always hard to answer as there are so many and to be dead honest half the time you cant tell one from another..!!, there are heaps of spots close to the sea, and you might find there are less pools close to the sea .....well because ...its close to the sea( not being sarky). Alot of it will come down to how much money you have...??, Glenelg is a great spot and we like it to visit , but for us its very touristy (not putting it down) and even going out can be expensive for us any way.

 

But it has a good vibe, is close to the city and has a great beach, but someone who lives there will help some more iam sure. Good luck

[Guest Nicky&Andy]

coming from weymouth and going to adelaide, you wont be dissapointed by the coast

we love the weymouth coast, adelaide coast line goes on forever , glenelg has a good little town for a photo buisness, espically if you do the smaller photo prints as well, your boys will love the beaches, but beware the beach house at glenelg, very tourist, my boys loved it, water slides, and arcade stuff, cost a fortune, plenty to do though , left or right of glenelg coastline is nice too, you cant really go wrong, most areas have a life saving clubs which is a great way for your boys to meet friends and the parents as well

 

good luck

[Guest nikki davies]

:)The whole area questions are always hard to answer as there are so many and to be dead honest half the time you cant tell one from another..!!, there are heaps of spots close to the sea, and you might find there are less pools close to the sea .....well because ...its close to the sea( not being sarky). Alot of it will come down to how much money you have...??, Glenelg is a great spot and we like it to visit , but for us its very touristy (not putting it down) and even going out can be expensive for us any way.

 

But it has a good vibe, is close to the city and has a great beach, but someone who lives there will help some more iam sure. Good luck

 

 

Thanks for replying - I'm probably way off the mark with Glenelg - we are just beginning our research - to be honest, only have thought about Glenelg as Jools (hubby) visited there briefly when he was 19! I think until we have visited Adelaide, it is really difficult to get a handle on the area - Really we want to be close to a beach, but also somewhere where we can walk kids to school, near shops, not too hectic, but not too quiet either - actually much like Weymouth!!! - In fact we do love it here, but we don't like the winters, what we want to achieve is similar surroundings, but have the time and money to enjoy it.

 

Are there any areas you can suggest - Im always looking on internet to try and suss out different areas/prices etc. Have you been to Hallet Cove?

 

Nikki

[ShaunWilson]

We're building in Hallett Cove, and it's a great area with loads of ex-pats living there. Close to beach, but i prefer to head down the road for 5 mins in car to Noarlunga beach. New shopping centre being built there too, so all in all a nice little place to live.

[Guest nikki davies]

We're building in Hallett Cove, and it's a great area with loads of ex-pats living there. Close to beach, but i prefer to head down the road for 5 mins in car to Noarlunga beach. New shopping centre being built there too, so all in all a nice little place to live.

 

How long have you been in Adelaide? How do you feel about schools? Are there schools in Hallett Cove? Loads of questions! - How would you compare your life to back in Britain? any feeback greatly appreciated - thank you!

[Guest kangomik]

We have been here nearly a year, the kids love school, nearly 11 now. they get to play out at school so much more (untill its to hot) they make friends easily even though they changed classes at Christmas (summer holidays) and went into different classes with different kids. More sporty options for the kids here i feel. We live in east suburbs so cannot comment about the coast.

Glenelg is nice, for a visit, very expensive and reminds me of blackpool some days, but without the grott!

 

My biggest tip would be to arrive and then decide.

 

You may not be able to walk to school, unless you live real close, sometimes it's just to hot, or just that bit to far.

 

Good luck with the process, we love it here and have so much more to learn and discover still

[Guest Beverley]

Hi Nikki

 

Adelaide is a great place to bring up children, especially lively ones! I have two sons 7 and 9 and they love the outdoors life, space and freedom to play here. Glenelg is lovely, an affluent area, there is a school R-7 in Glenelg, I am not sure where they go to next, but there would be private options in the area. Catholic private schools are cheaper than the others. Brighton is next to Glenelg and has a very sought after state school, you do have to live in the catchment area to get your sons in to most state schools.

 

I have a house with a pool, we live in Trott Park which is opposite Hallett Cove - a haven to poms, there are plenty living in the Cove. Hallett Cove is in the process of having a large mall built due in June, I am told rent is high there but that may be an option to put your printing business or alternatively Glenelg has a street lined with shops leading down to the beach. Houses do come up with pools - my friends recently had one installed around the twenty thousand dollar mark. However, if you can find one already installed the price of the house will be no higher, it is a preference which apparently only 20% of people actually want one real estate agent told me. Of course us Brits in the main want a pool as it gets a lot more use than it would in the UK. My boys love swimming in the pool and we have had some great hot weather for it. 34degs due Sat and we are in autumn now!

 

Other lovely areas to live are Marino and Seacliff these lead on to Hallett Cove, of course you are heading further away from the city if that is an issue to you. Other good locations approx 15 mins from the city are Somerton Park, Plympton, Henly Beach all nice areas. Most people rent for a while and check out the areas they want to move to before buying. It is certainly a buyers market globally and I am sure will be the same once you get here.

 

Hope this gives you a bit more of an insight. If you want any more info I will be happy to help if I can. We have been here 3 years in May, and adore Adelaide.

 

Cheers

Beverley

[Guest Libby1971]

I haven't always been as appreciative of Adelaide as I might have been. Like your OH, mine came here as a young man, aged 20, and the only thing he could remember about Adelaide was a pie floater and the Festival Centre!!!!

 

Yesterday I was walking back from the docs, trying to exercise a teeny tiny bit, and as I walked across the reserve opposite our house, a Rainbow Lorikeet flew past - little green bird, like a parrot, with bits of bright blue and red. As we walked past the trees, my daughter and I could see there were loads of the little lorikeets in the trees eating from the flowers.

 

On my way home from work, I look up and can see the sea over the rooftops. My children are old enough to walk home from school on their own but when it is too hot, I don't like them to so my OH collects them from school. We are lucky in that only one of us needs to work here but my job pays better here than in the UK.

 

We have a good sized 4 bed home...well I think so anyway. It didn't have a pool but it will do soon once the hole in the garden is filled with it!! Alot of Aussies think the beach is fine, but alot of Poms want one. I think it is because it is the final symbol of the move we all made for a better life, and that somehow a pool is a symbol that makes it worth it (well, we couldn't have a pool in England could we?)

 

For my birthday last year, some wonderful friends that we have made here went down to a winery in McLaren Vale for a picnic. We paid the equiv of £1 a head to sit down and eat a packed lunch while the kids played footie or ran around near the vines and the grown ups went inside and had a tasting before sitting under the pergola and drinking a bottle wine that we bought. We did something very similar for Mothers Day last year as well.

 

Regularly we meet up with friends, and the whole family comes out and we go for the afternoon and evening, laugh, dance, misbehave and have a great family time. In the UK, yes we could have done that but it would not have been the same sitting indoors, cramped. And going out usually meant the girls couldn't come and we usually had to go out which cost a fortune.

 

I have struggled at times and focused on the people I miss- my sister, my aunt and friends - as well as lamenting the loss of Waitrose, Tescos, Marks and Sparks food court, Argos, choc chip cookies, tuna pasta bake sauce mix, THORNTONS VANILLA AND VIENNESE TRUGGLES OMG but I have finally begun to settle and feel relaxed about being here. It has taken a long time to feel this way so don't expect immediate love for the place, but there is no comparison between our lives in the UK and here.

 

Don't decide from the UK about suburbs. Take a look at the map and have a look at where Gawler and Willunga are. From the UK, that is where we were going. Nowhere near where we are now!!!! Get here, get/ hire a car, drive round north and south and all points in between and find your own spot. You can live in Woodcroft and work in Glenelg...about 15 min drive.

[Guest nikki davies]

I haven't always been as appreciative of Adelaide as I might have been. Like your OH, mine came here as a young man, aged 20, and the only thing he could remember about Adelaide was a pie floater and the Festival Centre!!!!

 

Yesterday I was walking back from the docs, trying to exercise a teeny tiny bit, and as I walked across the reserve opposite our house, a Rainbow Lorikeet flew past - little green bird, like a parrot, with bits of bright blue and red. As we walked past the trees, my daughter and I could see there were loads of the little lorikeets in the trees eating from the flowers.

 

On my way home from work, I look up and can see the sea over the rooftops. My children are old enough to walk home from school on their own but when it is too hot, I don't like them to so my OH collects them from school. We are lucky in that only one of us needs to work here but my job pays better here than in the UK.

 

We have a good sized 4 bed home...well I think so anyway. It didn't have a pool but it will do soon once the hole in the garden is filled with it!! Alot of Aussies think the beach is fine, but alot of Poms want one. I think it is because it is the final symbol of the move we all made for a better life, and that somehow a pool is a symbol that makes it worth it (well, we couldn't have a pool in England could we?)

 

For my birthday last year, some wonderful friends that we have made here went down to a winery in McLaren Vale for a picnic. We paid the equiv of £1 a head to sit down and eat a packed lunch while the kids played footie or ran around near the vines and the grown ups went inside and had a tasting before sitting under the pergola and drinking a bottle wine that we bought. We did something very similar for Mothers Day last year as well.

 

Regularly we meet up with friends, and the whole family comes out and we go for the afternoon and evening, laugh, dance, misbehave and have a great family time. In the UK, yes we could have done that but it would not have been the same sitting indoors, cramped. And going out usually meant the girls couldn't come and we usually had to go out which cost a fortune.

 

I have struggled at times and focused on the people I miss- my sister, my aunt and friends - as well as lamenting the loss of Waitrose, Tescos, Marks and Sparks food court, Argos, choc chip cookies, tuna pasta bake sauce mix, THORNTONS VANILLA AND VIENNESE TRUGGLES OMG but I have finally begun to settle and feel relaxed about being here. It has taken a long time to feel this way so don't expect immediate love for the place, but there is no comparison between our lives in the UK and here.

 

Don't decide from the UK about suburbs. Take a look at the map and have a look at where Gawler and Willunga are. From the UK, that is where we were going. Nowhere near where we are now!!!! Get here, get/ hire a car, drive round north and south and all points in between and find your own spot. You can live in Woodcroft and work in Glenelg...about 15 min drive.

 

Well - I'm sold! Our reason for moving is for a better/different life - At the moment I drive to work, get home, it's getting dark, have tea, make lunchboxes, watch a bit of telly (which is utterly rubbish most of the time - the apprentice starts this week though!) - go to bed! During Winter here you just get through it - as I'm sure you know.

 

You are right about the pool - it's because it is something that is an immediate change to the way you live everyday in England. Maybe we don't need one - just WANT ONE! From things I've read from other people I realise that it will take a while to adjust, but both my husband and I feel it is our destiny (corney, but true!). When we met, he was in the process of emigrating to Oz, but due to my circumstances (I have a son from a previous marriage) - he stayed. We always hoped and dreamed that one day we could actually go. Well, I don't want it to be a dream - I want it to happen. I just hope we get through the hurdles on the way - one of which is telling Jools's (hubby) mum this weekend. We see alot of her and she does an awful lot for our kids - so I hope she will understand.

 

I just want to thank you so much for replying, to turn on the computer and read a message like that is great, to see wildlife like that out with your kids on a sunny day - well, who can beat that?

 

Thanks again - I will probably have a lot more questions as we go along, so appreciate any advice you can offer,

[Guest nikki davies]

Thank you so much, It is very hard to understand how life is in another country/area - I just wanted some reasurance that Adelaide is a good place to raise a family. We have friends who live on the Gold Coast, they love it there, but obviously at times find it very hot.

 

Thanks for the advice about the areas, we would rent first, We area going to come over for a holiday first, but that's not likely to be atleast another year yet - unless we win the lottery (which is highly impossible as we don't even do it!)

 

Have you been back to England yet?

[Guest Lulujim]

 

I think it is because it is the final symbol of the move we all made for a better life, and that somehow a pool is a symbol that makes it worth it (well, we couldn't have a pool in England could we?)

 

 

You've put your finger on it there Libby - I'd never thought of it like that before - but so true.

[Guest Beverley]

I couldnt agree more with your words, enough said, well done

[Guest kevm]

Hi, moving to Adelaide soon & have been reading yours posts. It's nice to know there is advice out there if you need it. I think hiring a car & having a look around is the best way forward. Havespent 12 months travelling in oz but didn't spend more than 2 wks in Adeliade, but did like the feel of the place. Carolyn

 

Well - I'm sold! Our reason for moving is for a better/different life - At the moment I drive to work, get home, it's getting dark, have tea, make lunchboxes, watch a bit of telly (which is utterly rubbish most of the time - the apprentice starts this week though!) - go to bed! During Winter here you just get through it - as I'm sure you know.

 

You are right about the pool - it's because it is something that is an immediate change to the way you live everyday in England. Maybe we don't need one - just WANT ONE! From things I've read from other people I realise that it will take a while to adjust, but both my husband and I feel it is our destiny (corney, but true!). When we met, he was in the process of emigrating to Oz, but due to my circumstances (I have a son from a previous marriage) - he stayed. We always hoped and dreamed that one day we could actually go. Well, I don't want it to be a dream - I want it to happen. I just hope we get through the hurdles on the way - one of which is telling Jools's (hubby) mum this weekend. We see alot of her and she does an awful lot for our kids - so I hope she will understand.

 

I just want to thank you so much for replying, to turn on the computer and read a message like that is great, to see wildlife like that out with your kids on a sunny day - well, who can beat that?

 

Thanks again - I will probably have a lot more questions as we go along, so appreciate any advice you can offer,

[Guest graandjac]

;)Some great posts here.....all honest but not just all good, its deffo best to visit before deciding where to live as there are so many nice areas we lived 5 mins from the beach in the yuk so we had to be near the beach here. So that includes anywhere from Port Adelaide to Selicks Beach ......along way between the two, there are not many places that you will be able to walk to the shops and school to be honest (unless your lucky)there are not many (or outside the city) what we would call a traditional high street, there seems to be centres ie.. Colonnades or seaford Centre ( we are down south) where there are lots of shops covering everything you need in Colonnades case.

 

We are in Noarlunga downs which is a pants area according to some...!!!:nah:yes some areas have social housing but lets not all become snobs on arrival:arghh:, Jac gets the train into the city approx 40 mins and enjoys the trip, colonnades is 5 mins away the beach is 5 mins away the kids school (Port Noarlunga) is 5 mins away , the river (Onkarparinga River Reserve) is 2 mins away, the wineries in Mclaren Vale are 15 mins drive away...........we like many were looking at Seaford and Hallett cove and liked these areas but ended up somewhere in the middle......so its good to give yourself an idea but dont make your mind up before having a look.