Anne B

Glad to hear that people are enjoying it here and settling in well, the weather in March is quite lovely, definately the best month of the year - although be aware that there is a 'honeymoon period' and after a couple of winters here and a couple of Christmases in the sunshine missing family and traditions, some of the novelty will no doubt wear off. Don't bag the negative posts on here totally, as I am sure that they are useful and informative and help people to be aware of what may eventuate. Life is not always plain sailing and as they say 'forewarned is forearmed'.

I don't think Adelaide has ever been big on financial services. I can only think of Bendigo Adelaide bank and Bank SA. ANZ are based in Melbourne. You would be much better off in Sydney or Melbourne.

Henley is not just soccer, it is a specialist sports school so they do other sports as well like football (aussie rules), golf, tennis, surf life saving etc - but if you are not on a specialist program the school isn't that great on sport. In year 8 they only have PE lessons for half the year!

Reading the FAQs on the website about the First Home Owners Grant there it says: [h=3]I previously owned a home overseas. Am I still eligible?[/h]Yes, the rules regarding previous ownership only applies to homes within Australia. So i would assume it is OK if yu owned a home in the UK. See http://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/grants-and-concessions/first-home-owners/frequently-asked-questions

I also love the sea and the beach, but if you are living in a flat part of Adelaide only those select few living on the esplanade get a view of it from their window - and that comes with a mega price tag. Being a few streets back you easily forget it is there, you could be living anywhere. Hallet Cove is good as the sea views are widespread. But the hills and trees are all around for everyone to enjoy, rich and poor wherever you are.

It's true that places go in and out of fashion. When I first lived here in the 90s, Henley, Grange and West Beach were just average suburbs, nothing special. Grange was traditionally a 'working class' suburb. The 'in' places were Unley, Burnside, Norwood, the Eastern Suburbs in general (the only hotspot on the coast was Glenelg) - the western suburbs, despite being by the beach, were not in any way deemed trendy or particularly desirable. My husband says that the western suburbs were always deemed inferior to the east. Then gradually over the years beachside became the place to go, I suppose property was cheaper and people started moving from the east to the beach - so the prices rose, I don't think that migrants from the UK had that much to do with it, the trend started before the big waves of migration. Old houses on the beachfront started getting knocked down and replaced with modern glass mansions. I used to rent a flat on the North Esplanade in Glenelg and the road is barely recognisable now, so many of the old houses have gone, replaced mainly by two-storey 2 on a block homes. Similarly West Beach and Henley have changed so much, and the trend to knock down and rebuild is spreading inland from the seafront.

Anyone looking to buy property and investigating house prices in the area, schools etc there is a really good Chinese website which brings a lot of information together in one place. http://house.ksou.cn/ My main gripe about the Henley/Grange/western suburbs/suburban beachside areas is the lack of beauty, countryside and trees. I'm a country girl at heart, would love to live in the hills/foothills, maybe somewhere like Coromandel Valley. I don't really like suburbia - it isn't good for the soul.

Yes it is per child. I paid $1075 for one child at High School and $430 for the other at primary. There is the School Kids Bonus but I was under the impression that Tony Abbot was going to scrap it next financial year (ie after June). The worst thing about school fees is that you get the bill at the start of the school year (late Jan/early Feb) which is far too soon after Christmas. Plus January is when you take you summer holiday so it can be a very expensive time of year!

Don't forget that you have to pay school fees (in state schools), although if you are on a really low income you can get help via a School Card http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/goldbook/pages/school_card/schoolcard/?reFlag=1 Fees do vary from school to school; Primary school fees are $300-$400 a year but high school costs more - we pay nearly a $1000 a year, which includes rental of a compulsory school laptop (about $350).

Yikes!!

If you are looking in that area be prepared to pay a lot of money for very little! Anything cheap that needs renovating will either get bought by a builder who will knock it down and put 2 on the block, or else an investor who will do nothing to it and rent it out. Open inspections are packed and houses sell very quickly. People pay silly money for houses I wouldn't even want to live in. Be prepared to pay $200k-$300k more for a house around here than in the southern suburbs. And then hope that the house next door to your dream home doesn't get demolished and two 2-storey houses built on the block! Sorry to sound negative but I live in the area and feel it is way overpriced - the only thing keeping us here is that the kids are settled in schools here and the area is convenient for work. It certainly isn't value for money and we would love to relocate somewhere else.

I did Coober Pedy to Uluru as a passenger in a coach. It set off very in the early hours of the morning (in the dark) and arrived mid afternoon. It was a long drive. I remember watching the sunrise over the desert. As Claire said don't drive at night - I suppose coaches and trucks can get away with it but anything smaller would get wrecked by a kangaroo or cattle, which tend to stray onto the road because it stays warm once the sun goes down. My husband used to drive coaches up to Alice and once he hit a kangaroo. It damaged the door to the coach so badly that it wouldn't open, everyone was stuck on board until they arrived at the next coach station and the mechanics managed to open it!

Wow, I can't believe he wasn't wearing a blue tie! It must be indicative of some weird personality trait that he always wears the same colour tie.

The First Home Owner Grant for existing (rather than new) properties runs out on 30th June 2014. http://www.revenuesa.sa.gov.au/grants-and-concessions/first-home-owners We are suffering from home buyers fatigue at the moment. We have missed out on 2 properties we liked which have been snapped up really quickly. Problem is, I don't like being rushed into making decisions.. Last time I bought property quickly in a rising market I was stuck with negative equity for many years (in the UK), so I don't want to get sucked into panic buying.

I don't think Tony Abbot is coping very well with the job. He seems ill-advised and doesn't know what to say a lot of the time. He'll probably end up having a breakdown! It was very inappropriate of him not to invite Jay Weatherill to the drone event, he shouldn't involve politics with things like that to such a blatant degree. It was an announcement of something relevant to the whole state so it was totally wrong and impolite to exclude the serving Premier. Statesmen (or women) sometimes need to rise above politics - like Churchill did in WW2. With regards to the slow counting of counts in the election, I'm hoping the vote in the seat of Colton isn't too close. I have been approved for citizenship but have been waiting for a citizenship ceremony for 3 months - which has effectively denied me the chance to vote - and every vote counts in Colton!!!

We get our meat from Baa Moo Oink in Findon Rd Kidman Park. Always good quality (nice sausages too) - don't know the price of the chicken though! http://www.baamoooink.com.au/index.html

Unfortunately a skill that my children don't seem to have inherited!

This Daniel Andrews epitomises the petty, pig-ignorant small-minded parochialism that you find in Australia. It is sad that people like him are voted into public office.

They do Invisalign at excel orthodontists at West Lakes, Glenelg, Warradale - my son has had Dr Watson we have been pleased with the results although very expensive!! http://www.excelorthodontics.com.au/find-an-orthodontist-glenelg-sa/

The latest from RP Data's volatile weekly index shows prices down in February. Adelaide prices are up 3% over the last 12 months, but have been flat since the start of the year. We have been house hunting for a while now, there was a big surge to sell before Christmas. We have been to open inspections in the western suburbs and they are packed with loads of people looking, however further south the market seem to be less frantic, less buyers, not so stupid. Since the peak in 2010 Adelaide prices are still down 2.6%. There are lots of charts here: http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2014/02/rp-data-weekly-australian-house-price-update-3/

Congratulations! Don't worry too much about being an older Mum, I had my kids late in life and was lucky enough to sail through both pregnancies with no problems at all. One thing I do remember was being told to be careful with cat's poo and gardening as there is some rare disease you can pick up which is harmful to the baby. I googled it and it is toxoplasmosis - see here http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/toxoplasmosis.html - Nothing to worry about just sensible precautions.

I really like Semaphore. It is nearer the industrial areas around Port Adelaide so I can see why some people don't like it, but it has a lot to offer. It is an honest working class area without too many pretensions. There are some interesting shops (a bit different from the chain stores you get in the malls), plenty of restaurants, cafes, ice cream parlours, an independent cinema ($8 tickets - cheap and cheerful). There is lots of room at the seafront, wide open grass spaces, a water slide and small amusement area, the jetty to walk along and fish from, lots of playgrounds for the kiddies, a skate park, bbqs etc, even a miniature steam train that does rides in the summer months. The beach is popular with kite surfers. Plus there is the old palais (now a pub/venue). It does have a old-fashioned seaside charm but that gives it character (which is hard to come by in Australia). There are always plenty of events throughout the year, street fairs, new years eve fireworks etc, and over the summer there is a permanent fun fair with rides (dodgems etc). There are some beautiful old houses in Semaphore, but they are highly sought after, especially if they have been modernised. We go there quite often, just to go for a walk along the seafront and get an icecream - it is always lively at the weekends. The train to the city goes through Ethelton/Glanville, nearby to Semaphore - it apparently used to go right along Semaphore Road to the beach (OH has photos of last train) - that is why the road is so wide.

I've already voted for the Barossa but tbh I feel Geelong probably needs it more, with so many job losses and closures looming on the horizon. I didn't realise that guy was the Mayor - I saw him on tv the other day - he used to live in London and was a well known and outspoken papparazzi. He seemed really genuinely concerned about Geelong and was quoting the regeneration that has happened to UK cities such as Glasgow as a possible way forward. He has obviously come home and changed careers.

This website might help http://www.engineeringdaily.net/10-resume-tips-for-engineers/ Not all Australian companies will prefer Australian workers. I did some temping at a company which made mining equipment and the owner said he preferred workers from overseas as they had a good work ethic. The workforce there was like the United Nations!

I totally agree - it drives me mad. The words I hate are 'lifestyle' used as an adjective, as in lifestyle property - what does that mean? Surely all properties offer a lifestyle. Also 'wellness' - now that is just made-up.