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Hi Paul, I would recommend getting a short term let when you arrive, so you can scope the place out and see where you'd like to live and what you can afford. I stayed at Midway Apartments in Kurralta Park - http://www.midwayapartments.com.au/apartments/index.html, when I got here, which I would recommend. I paid $475 per week there, though I notice it's currently down to $455. Maybe because it's winter. That includes all bills plus wi-fi, and a parking spot. They're one bedroom apartments, with a fully equipped kitchen, living room area with TV/DVD player, and a bathroom with washing machine and tumble drier. Aircon in the main room. Ours had a queen plus a single in the bedroom, which I think all the apartments do. We moved the queen mattress into the living room area, and got a cot from Ikea for our son in the bedroom. The Apartments are right next to the shopping centre at Kurralta park, which includes a Coles supermarket and K-mart. It's about a ten minute walk to the tram which will take you into the city, or to the beach at Glenelg. There's a couple of playgrounds with swings and slides and whatnot a short walk away. Kurralta Park is located about half way between the city centre and the coast. I reckon it's an ideal place to base yourself for the first few weeks, and a reasonable price for a short term let. The fella who runs it, Kym, is really friendly and helpful. I wouldn't want a house with a pool. Too much hassle I reckon. You can just swim in the sea for nowt. But I guess it's the Australian dream! Good luck!

You're welcome. If your sister and other family are in Sydney, I would go there over Adelaide. It would just be easier with their support, and with a much better job situation. You could have a theoretically better life style in Adelaide, with a bigger house, nearer to the beach, but only if you can score an elusive job. If you can't actually see your family because they're an 8 hour drive away, you might wonder why you bothered moving. I also uprooted myself from a comfortable life. I don't regret it. Yet. Every action has a risk attached. Doing nothing has a risk attached. Personally I think the UK is in a lot of trouble and the Eurozone is in even more trouble. I wanted to get out before the whole thing implodes. I thought, and still think, Australia offers a better future for my kids. There isn't a major economy that doesn't have a rocky road ahead, Australia included. To be in Adelaide right now is kind of like having jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. Ultimately, you just have to make the best decision you can, with the information you have available.

Hi Proud, The job market in Adelaide is pretty bad right now, generally. Though I don't know about your specific area. I'm from an IT background and I've been looking for 10 months. A mate has got me some casual work, a day here, a day there, but that's it. It's hard to get low skilled work just to get by on, because everyone is after that kind of work. Which is a shame, because Adelaide is great city to live in. It's a good size, not too big, not too small. Beautiful hills on one side, great beaches on the other. I have experience of all the Australian state capitals from being here on a working holiday visa many years ago, and I reckon Adelaide is the nicest place to live and raise a family. There might not be as many 'attractions' to visit with kids as back in the UK (where I'm from), but the outdoor activities you can do are limitless. Swimming, cycling, kayaking, bush walking, fishing, whatever. Doing outdoor stuff was what I liked most as a kid. You visited 'attractions' just to get yourself out of the rain. So what if there's no Blackpool Pleasure Beach, you can actually swim in the sea here. It's possible to live fairly cheaply. I'm paying $290 a week for a three bedroom house in a reasonable suburb, 20 min walk from the tram that runs between the bay and the city centre. Groceries tend to be more expensive than the UK, in theory, but it's possible to find special offers all the time, so in reality, not really more expensive in my experience. Petrol is about half the price, if you shop around. Utilities, kind of similar to the UK. Houses here are really badly insulated. My house is anyway. It's freezing right now. I expect my electric bill will be large this quarter. In conclusion, Adelaide is, theoretically, an awesome place to live, in my opinion, but the job market is terrible. It's driving me nuts. I got sponsored by SA, so I'm supposed to live here for two years. If I can't get a job before too long, I'll have to see about looking in Melbourne or something. Which I don't want to do, as I don't really want to live in Melbourne. I want to live in Sydney less than Melbourne. And I want to go back to the UK even less than that. With the job market like it is, and being a single mother, I think you'd be taking a really big risk coming to Adelaide right now. You could blow through $25k pretty quick just setting yourself up. If you get a PR visa, one like mine anyway, you've got a year to get here to validate it, and another four years in which you can come and go as you please, after which you can't get back in, if you leave. If you're really set on Australia, and it has to be Adelaide, I'd advise, getting your visa, then start applying for jobs from Ireland. Before the first year runs out, fly over on a three week 'fact finding' trip/holiday, validate your visa, then fly back. You've then got 4 more years in which you could keep applying for jobs in SA, save money, get some more skills and job experience, and hopefully the job market will pick up in that time. No harm in getting the visa anyway. I used an agent. Money well spent in my opinion. Took the sting out of it, and helped me avoid some pit falls I would have fallen into otherwise. I hope it all works out!

Hi BimalwBedi, The Adelaide job market is horrendous. I've never experienced anything like it. I don't know anything about your specific job, so I can't offer any specific advice. I would advise trying one of the bigger cities instead, but if your husband is here already, I guess you have no choice. 'Seek' is the best jobs website, so have a look on there. I would also consider having your CV professionally re-done by an Australian CV writer, so it meets the specific requirements that HR departments seem to have here. Good luck!

Hi Growler, It's pretty grim out there jobs wise. I'd advise sticking it out with this job you've already got until you've got something else lined up. Being unemployed is usually more of a downer than a rubbish job. I think random office work is pretty much impossible though, unless you know someone. Like you, I've been round temp agencies looking for random office work and got told the same thing about the 200-300 applicants. I don't even know how they'd pick who to interview. Maybe they just shuffle the pack of CVs and pick a couple out. I can't see how anyone can get a job under those circumstances unless you know someone on the inside or you can type a million words a minute or something. It's a far cry from my temping days back in the UK. I just used to walk into a temp agency, say I was looking for work, and they'd usually have something for me within 48 hours. Took it for granted at the time. I guess when the job market is bad, like it is in Adelaide, low skill jobs just get inundated because they're the jobs pretty much anyone can do. I suggest doing a course or doing some training. Something to give you an edge. If you've got something to work towards and focus on, maybe that would help you ignore the grief at work. I've been looking for work for 10 months. When I'm not applying for jobs, I'm studying for certifications. Also I got my CV professionally done. I got no response at all using my old UK CV. Not a peep. With my new fancy pants Oz CV, at least I get call backs, and the occasional interview. Good luck! Certifications for supermarket jobs. Ha ha ha. What a joke.