HelenS

If you are moving into an area where the local school is zoned, I would suggest that you call the school before you sign a lease. There are quite a few schools in the eastern suburbs that are oversubscribed and even if you are in the zone they won't be able to take you.

I wouldn't stay in the City if you aren't planning on living in the city when you move here. Better to use the time to get the feeling of a suburb but make sure its one that you think you can afford when you actually move over here. The suburbs to the East are really nice, very green and have excellent schools but can be expensive. The schools are zoned but be aware that some of the schools in the East (Rose Park, Linden Park and Burnside) have recently been at capacity so make sure you give them a call to see if they have space before buying or renting a house in their zone.

I applied for ours a couple of weeks ago and they were granted within 5 seconds (on a Sunday!)

We landed in Adelaide on a Saturday night and then spent the next 2 days sorting out car rego, driving licenses, mobile phones, bank & medicare etc. We didn't start looking at houses until Tuesday (saw 3) then Weds my husband started work and so I looked at a further 2 properties with just the kids. We made an offer on the best one on Thurs which was accepted straight away and then enrolled the kids in school on the Fri. Done and dusted in a week. I contacted the agents and made appointments to view the properties, we didn't actually go to any opens. I think it would be possible to achieve what you need in the time that you have but do a lot of research first. Look at properties on realestate.com.au and check the school zones. We wanted a house with a pool which made it slightly easier as it eliminated a lot of properties. I then checked the school zones for all the available rentals with pools in Adelaide which only left us with a total of 5 houses in the zones of schools which we liked. We were lucky at the time (2015) because there was still space in our chosen school but some of them are now over subscribed and cannot take you even if you live in the zone. Call the schools first to check if they have places available in your kids years Make sure you have all the paperwork that you need with you if you want to sign a lease while you are here on a visit plus enough money to pay the bond and the first month rent Good luck

I lived in Sydney for 4 years and it was great as a couple with no kids. We returned to Australia 2 years ago and this time we have moved to Adelaide (with kids) and I was unsure what it would be like at first as I loved Sydney but this is a much better place to be with a family. Its really easy to get about, traffic is light, there are loads of opportunities for the kids and great festivals. Property is much cheaper here too We have been back to Sydney for a visit and while it was great for a week, I was really happy to come back to Adelaide. There was just too much traffic in Sydney and everywhere was really busy. I guess it depends what sort of lifestyle you are looking for and what stage you are at in your life

We got ours back in 2 days and this was without meeting the 2 year residency

The local libraries run really great holiday activities which are ridiculously cheap (usually $5-$10 per session). Burnside Library has a great program - check their website later in the term, its not out yet. Some of their activities take place in Eastwood so would be close to you. Otherwise Come and Try http://www.comentry.com.au/ run loads of different sporting activities in various locations around the city during the holidays. My kids tried water polo during the October break. If you are planning on swimming lessons for your kids, find out which pool is closest to their school and sign them up for lessons as soon as you arrive - you'll probably find loads of kids from the school will be having their lessons at the same time and your kids can start making friends. As Snifter said - OSHC is a really good way to meet people if your kids aren't going to start school until January. We arrived in Adelaide just before the July holiday but signed the kids up to do 3 or 4 days at OSHC before they'd even started at the school so that they got to meet a few people and also had a chance to explore the school at bit before the start of term

Before you sign a tenancy agreement, check with your zoned school that they still have space to take new pupils. Many of the schools (especially in the East) are closed even to kids in the zone as they are at capacity

We stayed in this one for 2 weeks when we were in between long term rental properties https://www.stayz.com.au/accommodation/sa/adelaide/norwood/183006 The owner was lovely and fixed things very promptly. Its centrally located and easy to walk into the city

Thanks so much for your replies

Does anyone know anywhere in the city where you can get a smashed iPhone screen repaired quickly (and cheaply....) We're going back to the UK for a visit next week and my husband just dropped his phone Thanks

Our credit card gives us travel insurance and reduces the excess for car rental as long as we use it to pay for the flights and car hire. We're going to the UK, Belgium and France next month ( British family of 4) and we're not planning on buying any separate travel insurance

Thank you

Hi Steve Could you forward Katie's details to me as well please? Thanks for your help

We used Voovit to ship a few boxes - they were great

We arranged 3 weeks in a short term let and then found our long term one just 4 days after arriving and got the keys 10 days later.

Hi Sarah and welcome We lived in NSW for 4 years back in 2004-2008 but had to go back to the UK for various reasons and like you, we were always thinking about going back at some point. We were lucky in that an opportunity came up to move to Adelaide and we absolutely love it here. We had not visited SA during our 4 years in NSW so had no idea what we were moving to. We have 2 kids (7 and 10) and they have settled really well in school. I really like the fact that Adelaide is small (makes getting around really easy) but there is a lot going on all year round plus its great for families and kids. I spent a lot of time looking at different suburbs online before we came out here and we were convinced that we were going to live by the beach but it all seemed so different when we arrived and we are now living in a lovely area in the east but its still only a 30 min drive to the beach, very close to the hills and super easy to get to the city. Of course we miss our families and the history we have with the friends we have known since the kids were small but we look at all the positives that we have here in Australia and consider ourselves very lucky.

Hi all- we moved here 18 months ago. I have a girl (10) and a boy (7) and we live about 10 mins from the city. I'd love to meet up during the day when the kids start back at school

My friend recently moved back and she used Chess (tel 131469) - she was very happy with them

We moved to Adelaide less than a year ago and my kids have already outgrown the bikes we bought them when we arrived. I am also selling a Trail-Gator which is a great device for attaching your kids bike to your own when they get too tired to ride any further. Boys Avenger Bike - suitable for 4-6 year old $20 - still available Girls Vintage Style Bike - suitable for 6-9 year old. $25 SOLD Trail-Gator great condition only $50 - SOLD The boys bike does have a small tear on the saddle but otherwise in great condition. Also comes with training wheels.

Hi Sally - I have a 9 year old girl and I'm happy to pass on any of her clothes that no longer fit. PM me your details and next time I have a bag, I'll let you know. I don't want any money for them

We bought the Hipod Boston from Target when we arrived with our 6 year old last year. It has good safety reviews and cost $99. Also very easy to fit and we've had no complaints.

I have the same problem - quick trip to the GP for some Lorazepam and sleep all the way!

We moved to Adelaide last June and did the same thing putting Australian sim cards into our UK phones. We contacted our UK provider to unlock our phones before we left but also explained what we planned to do and they recommended putting our UK sims back in our phones every few months and then make a call or send a text otherwise we would lose our UK numbers. We are doing this as its useful to keep these numbers when we go back for visits so we don't have to use our Australian sims back in the UK.

We always use drivenow.com.au when we hire cars as they give great rates from the major car hire companies