reasons why i should stay

[Guest paddyhaha]

have for a long time remain anonymous from this site because nobody can give a fair comparison of one OZ Town to one OZ City and when i say that i mean Adelaide as the town. most people on this site come from much larger towns in the UK or Eire and rely on our living experience to make some real life changing choices as to where they live, kids going to school and even shopping. so please give these people a real choice and be truthful. I am living in Adelaide and it has nothing to offer unless you Don't want to shop you don't want nice restaurants outside the CBD and public transport is crap. if anyone can justifiably offer me or the the newbies some alternatives pleas reply if not just like this post. I wait with baited breath to reveal the true answers!!!!!:skeptical::skeptical:!!

[Guest cbeeb]

I get where you coming from but no longer go to shops kids school is fab, job oppurtunities limited depending what you do. but my kids love the beaches. I am going back to uni to retrain and hubby has fab job.(read well paid) not eire but not unemployed or have negative equity either(I lived there before i moved here) I love melbourne but we doing ok. Would move back to ireland in a flash if it was the place I left but is not. still miss the craic though

[Guest markmet]

Hi anonymous

Maybe you need to remind yourself why you came to Adelaide in the first place. Lots of us me included would have come here in search of something more than we already had. we may have had it all but wanted more adventure or thought we didnt have enough and craved more if that makes sense. who knows, but for me Adelaide as a whole is a great place to be. Maybe I am more apprecative due to where my early years in life began making me appreciate more what i have now. But we all have our own reasons for living here. I for one will speak my mind and say what i like and dont like about Adelaide so if there is anything in particular you want to know feel free to ask. What i will say is in the almost 12 months that we have lived here we have found everyone friendly and laid back, great beaches, some lovely houses if you look hard enough, we found one, food expensive but wages out weigh this, so overall a pretty good place to be if you ask me. Adelaide is a fantasic place to live and from one who gave up everything to be here and started again from scratch is very happy to remain here. My only critisism if that is spelt correctly is the driving/drivers which i find at times rather apalling and puts me off picking up where i left off on learning to drive.

Chris

[snifter]

have for a long time remain anonymous from this site because nobody can give a fair comparison of one OZ Town to one OZ City and when i say that i mean Adelaide as the town. most people on this site come from much larger towns in the UK or Eire and rely on our living experience to make some real life changing choices as to where they live, kids going to school and even shopping. so please give these people a real choice and be truthful. I am living in Adelaide and it has nothing to offer unless you Don't want to shop you don't want nice restaurants outside the CBD and public transport is crap. if anyone can justifiably offer me or the the newbies some alternatives pleas reply if not just like this post. I wait with baited breath to reveal the true answers!!!!!:skeptical::skeptical:!!

 

I never compare between the UK and Oz. I don't think you can really. I can't compare London to Canberra (capitals of both nations) nor would I stack Sydney alongside Birmingham or Manchester. Same with Melbourne. There is no comparision. At least not one that for most people looking to move to Australia will find useful.

 

I think many times the downfall for a lot of people is not really understanding the Australian people, how they tend to live, work and play. How their lifestyle is geared to a different climate, adapted to it better. Most people live along the coastline and therefore the major cities and towns are there also. None of the UK's main cities are beachside cities that's for sure. How their homes are built layout wise (most often bedrooms at the front of a property and single story homes being the norm and larger than the average UK house). How the sheer expanse of space allows cities and towns to sprawl over far larger distances than UK cities, where people are crammed in like sardines for the most part.

 

How can you compare any of that with UK living in any city? I can't. So why bother.

 

The other thing I have learnt when living overseas is that to keep comparing the place you have chosen to call home with the place you once called home serves no purpose other than to stir up homesickness and possible discontent or resentment. You take it for what it is, within that country and if its not right, not working, then seek to make it work. Be that by relocating or moving or making some other kind of change that might help improve things. Also keeping looking back over your shoulder to what you left behind, just makes the transition harder. I fully go with the jump in with both feet and go native approach.

 

The other thing I feel is that so often people have this Aussie ideal thanks to some crappy soaps on TV and a few other things. But that isn't the reality is it. Would you move to London from Adelaide thinking life was going to be like it is in Eastenders? And Aussies themselves don't live like the Brits. Hanging out with friends is done, just maybe not on the same level as in the UK. People in Oz are more likely to have friends over for the night rather than hitting town, bars and clubs. Rumpus rooms anyone? The social life isn't quite the same as we have in the UK. Yes clubs and bars exist, but my experience is they are not generally the first choice for people to go to every weekend. The outdoor opportuities in Australia seem to change the dynamic and how people interact with each other. That is also a possible reason why so many ex pats find it hard to get a foot in the door socially with Aussies. Brits expect bars and clubs as the norm for a Friday night. My husband (an Aussie) and his mates are more likely to hit a BBQ somewhere, take some beers, hang out with friends and head to the beach or go play a bit of footy someplace.

 

Australia is also still playing catch up on the UK. Its not always been this epic destination for people to visit or move to. Think back to what you know of Australia in the 50s, 60's and 70's. It took them a long time to catch up with the faster progress of Europe and the US and they are making up for it now, but some things still take a while to filter through (fashion is always a season late due to hemisphere). Before the 80's Australia was the other side of the world and really felt it.

 

Technology has made the world smaller, but a country doesn't change overnight. It takes more than a generation. But Australia began waking up to the world and we woke up to it. And here we are today, discussing its pros and cons and arguing over why we think Adelaide is a crap or not so crap place to live, depending on your expectations and experiences following on from those.

 

I'll stick with trying not to have massive expectations and to stop comparing. And to keep working on understanding the Aussies and their society and how best to adapt myself to that rather than expecting it to change for me. I don't want to live in Adelaide and hope or expect its like Manchester or Leeds back in the UK. If I wanted Manchester I'd go live there. I want Adelaide and that is exactly what I will get, the good and the not so good and a bit of bad thrown in.

[snifter]

Yeah.

 

Sometimes I write a lot.

[Guest lastboyscout]

You summed it up perfectly though

[HEAPS GOOD !!!]

I dnt compare thats the easiest way.....we never went out to fancy restaurants back in the UK....so that doesn't affect us at all.

 

We stopped @ Deep Blue Cafe last night on the way home from Schutzenfest..and had a great dinner....there are various very nice eateries in The Vale...all well worth a visit.

 

We never used to shop shop shop back in the UK so that does not affect us either...we came from little country village in the heart of Gloucestershire, which is why we settled as quickly as we have and didnt want to live near the bright lights.

 

We goto festivals here in Adelaide...Schutzenfest $22 yesterday, future music $110 etc etc we never did much of that in the UK...due to it being so expensive.

 

We have been to the cricket...Ashes ticket for $33 now match that price @ The Oval...or @ Lords.

 

We have been out to the city on about 3/4 occasion and walked through the city at night...i didnt feel safe walking through Cheltenham let alone Gloucester on an evening....

 

 

Our nearest beach was Weston Super Mare ( not really a beach ) we used to holiday in South Wales ( 3 hrs drive ) or down in Devon ( 2.5 Hrs drive )...and the beaches we have within say 30 mins are heaps better....

 

We probably see more of our friends here than did of most of them in the UK....

 

At first it is hard living here...bloody hard at times...its how you deal with it that matters build circle of close friends as these are the guys you spend the good and the bad times with...try and surround yourself with forward looking people...you be amazed how much better they can make you feel when your having a downer moment.

 

I could go on but thats my little ramblings...lol

 

HG

[Dawn]

some great posts here - each with a different slant on a similar story. You miss people more than any location - thats where the homesickness kicks in ! As to comparing any UK place with an Australian one - it's like comparing eggs to bacon, each being great in their own right.

 

Personally, after nearly 5 years here I don't think we could hack a British winter anymore..........

[Diane]

I see the OP lives in Moana - I think something a lot of people from the UK don't appreciate is just how far some suburbs are from the CBD. It's not like living in a little village, 10 minutes drive from the nearest town. You either get used to longer travelling times if you want to live a ways out, or you don't bother - up to you.

 

Most of anything that happens in South Australia happens in Adelaide itself, so if you live a fair way out, you're not going to experience that. Personally I find public transport great - can walk to the bus stop, and be in the city in 20 minutes - and cheap. I don't particularly enjoy shopping, but the shopping mall at Tea Tree Plaza has just about everything I could need, or if not, again there's the City. Restaurants; there are a few dotted around in the outer suburbs, but spent last night at a place on East Terrace in the City - Rundle Street was really buzzing, loads of eaterie choices and it was warm and felt safe to walk around. I've seen Pink, Robbie, and the Gorrillaz in the City, as well as international sports. My nearest town in the UK was Chelmsford which had a similar sort of size and feel (to me) of the Adelaide CBD, but apart from the V festival, there weren't a great deal of big names coming to Chelmsford.

 

To the original poster, perhaps if you are bored in Moana, you should look at moving nearer to the city? It's like living at Lands End and moaning about nothing happening anywhere in Britain. You actually say in your post "I am living in Adelaide" - but you're not, not really are you?

[Guest lastboyscout]

I see the OP lives in Moana -

 

 

I wonder if thats a typo and should be ending in `ER `:biglaugh:

 

Joking aside, its not everyones cup of tea, horses for courses and all that

[Toni]

I’ve lived in Adelaide all my life. Have traveled quite a lot and visited the UK quite a few times as have a lot of family and friends living there. I think the UK is a lovely place, it has charm and history and London has beautiful places to shop and the transport (Tube) is really great when you are a tourist with limited time. I love M&S and visiting all the places that I only knew from the Monopoly board. I could spend days just walking through the shops and that would keep me happy.

 

I have also been to Asia, Europe and the US and traveled quite a bit in Australia and especially in my home of South Australia. I can understand what people say about Adelaide being a Town. South Australians say that ourselves. Adelaide is like a big country town. I think it is a compliment. I live close to the city and definitely don’t feel like I am missing out. We have great restaurants around the corner, small boutique shops, cinemas and like Diane the larger shopping centres are not really that far away and really have all I need. And now with online shopping there is also much more variety.

 

I love going on holidays OS because there is more to life than Adelaide but Adelaide is my home. When I am returning home and the plane is making its final descent into Adelaide I see Glenelg beach and that huge Ikea building and I know I am home. I don’t think you can really define a feeling of home but if you do live further out and feel like you are missing out then I too (as Diane mentions) think that you should try moving a bit closer to the city before giving the place away. At least you have given it your best shot.

[Guest kangomik]

I am sure that if there was a market for nice dinning, or huge nightclubs some one would have been on to it already.

 

The lifestyle is different, is that not why we move away from our original home - because we are sick of it.

 

Do you really want Adelaide to turn into Benidorm? Imagine the first people that migrated there and thought what a quaint sea side town, only to turn it into little Engand with english beers english breakfast - with chips - and of course you have to watch east enders and corrie.

Personally i don't, i like it here.

[taffordbark]

I felt the same way for a while then when I sat down and thought about it,I decided the geography didnt matter,I could be anywhere in the world and its what I make of it be it Adelaide,Manchester or Dublin ,that realy counts!

[Guest Guest75]

Hi Paddy.

 

 

I notice that you say you have been anonymous and perhaps there are no really fair opinions regarding Adelaide and other cities.

 

I think there have been but you have to look hard to find them at times.

 

Some of the posts regarding opinions of Adelaide have turned into bun fights ,are probably quite chopped up no as Mods try and keep the peace.

Unfortunately some people will come and join the forum after they have made up their minds that they dislike Adelaide and are returning or moving to another city.

 

Bad news always travels faster than good. You should see the huge increase in traffic on the site when there is a "scrap" on here.

 

 

Right, now I've said that.

 

So far the thread is great,if any comment is made directly to you it seems to be one to help.

 

I too think you are living too far out if you miss shopping and night life. It's good to be wanting cheaper housing near the beach but you will pay for it in other ways. OR have really thought about it and actually want the quieter and family friendly lifestyle that the south offers. I've no figures but I do know from experience there are a huge amount of Pom families with young kids down south,the lifestyle attracts them and with good reason.

Have you a family or are you young un's??

 

No one in their right mind will say stay!! or even try and convince you.

I'd be worried if a forum could sway you that easily.

 

It's like any city in the world, not everyone will like it.

 

We moved here for a quieter life in semi rural surrounds - got it in spades!! Loved it but now as our circumstances change ( I hate saying as we get older!) we are looking at moving nearer to the city.

 

Adelaide has been good to us - as had our home country - but in no way would I recommend everyone to live in Leeds!! (In fact not many at all now!)

 

Have a visit to other Aus cities, I've visited Melbourne,Sydney and Darwin - always glad to get back "home"

 

 

I'd be spending time in the car looking at other Adelaide suburbs. Often a change is as good as a rest, a new place,new neighbours may make all the difference.

 

Good luck on your search for happiness.

[ozzieclare2be]

i think moana (living there myself) is more geared to the beachside lifestyle really. There are nice restaurants in mcclaren vale and port noarlunga but yes nothing in walking distance etc. I dont think shopping is really an aussie thing on the scale of the uk poms seems to be more obsessed with stuff (in my experience), i dont shop anywhere near as much as i did in the uk, dont feel the need.

 

Being so far out the cbd it may seem like theres not alot going on, but there is stuff if you look for it. Dont loose heart paddyhaha, everyone has their ups and downs , Adelaide is definetly different to other states keep your chin up x

[Diane]

Paddy, it looks like you have already tried a couple of places in SA as didn't you used to live in the hills? Back in 2009 you posted

 

"we live in the hills at the moment and very beautiful it is not far from hahndorf 15 mins in car and we are seriously considering moving to the south beachs as it gets so isolated up here away from all the town life. we thought country life was what we wanted but the reality bit hard that we need to access people and normal day to day stuff like shops without sitting in a car for 45mins - 1 hou:)r just to get there."

 

Whilst I love Moana - and have seen stingrays surfing in the waves there, it's a lovely beach with sand so fine it squeaks when you walk on it - I think maybe if you were looking to move somewhere with a bit more going on, then you're still a bit far south.

 

I completely agree with your original point though about people still in Britain reading stuff on forums (forii?) such as these and making decisions based on other people's views - that's why everyone should come over with an open mind, and take some time looking around to find somewhere that suits them, ticks their boxes, not just go on hearsay.

 

So often on here, you see threads by people who have never even been to Australia, yet have already decided on the suburb they want to live in, based on strangers on forums saying that place is nice, or another place is not - I know it's reassuring to have some sort of idea on roughly where you are headed when you're moving to the other side of the world, but as you have demonstrated, one man's meat is often another man's poison.

 

Sometimes that might mean compromising on some of your "wishlist" - for example, when we moved here, we really wanted a house with room for a pool, enough bedrooms to have a spare to put visitors up in, within easy commuting distance to my husbands work, near good schools, good transport for the kids as they get older, and not have to drive long distances on windy roads to get anywhere. We ended up buying a place that ticked everything else for us, but doesn't have room for a pool (we got a spa instead!) and my daughter moves out of her room into the study when visitors come!

 

Similarly for anyone that wants beachside, not too expensive, but near to good shops/restaurants/stuff going on, they may have to settle for a smaller house than they originally planned, if they end up thinking location is the most important factor on that list.

[Guest guest3462]

It's a difficult question to answer as every person has their own opininon. I live further south than Moana in Aldinga beach and feel completely at home here and I am very proud to be in the "I love my life in Adelaide club". I can't comment on the public transport system as I drive most places, but the trains to the city always run on time and seem regular enough and when the links are completed down to Seaford it will open up a whole new scene for us southerners to explore!! My husband drives an hour each way to the city for work, but he really enjoys the scenery along the way and uses his time to relax and reflect on his day. When we lived in the UK it still took him an hours drive each way to get to work, the only difference being that the distance was only 5 miles in Wakefield and he sat bumper to bumper in traffic jams on the M62!!!

I am currently having a career break to raise our young family, but I never feel isolated or lonely down here "in the sticks". I have a car and i'm more than happy to strap the kids in and go for a drive into the beautiful countryside, to explore a new beach or just drive towards the city and have a bit of retail therapy. I will be the first to admit that the shopping experience here in Adelaide isn't the same as Leeds or Manchester, but then again, I don't really feel the need for a shop til I drop day very often and to be honest the Westfield at Marion is every bit as good as Meadowhall IMO!!

 

Our kids are happier and healthier than they have ever been and when you ask them they will always say they are Australian! My eldest daughter suffers with a bad chest and was constantly in and out of hospital in the UK due to the damp and cold weather conditions that seemed to prevail for most of the year, yet in 2 years here she has suffered only 3 chest infections and is now able to swim and run a great deal further than she could in the UK.

 

Restraunt wise, we are very lucky to have the Mclaren Vale within very reasonable distance where there are an abundance of wonderful eateries and bistros, and most cellar doors offer light bites if you search them out. We also have the world famous Russells Pizza house in Willunga which is the best pizza you will ever taste, if you can get a table!

Granted there are no clubs (bar the Surf club) but then when we chose our current lifestyle clubbing was the last thing on our agenda!! There is always the top pub in Willunga (along with the middle and bottom pubs) if you want live music and a good night out! Although I would suggest you avoid the extortionate taxi fares and designate a driver lol! We have had nights out in the city and stayed in hotels as its cheaper than a taxi home, but to be honest, I didn't find it all that exciting and yes in comparisson to a night out in Leeds, Manchester or Newcastle it is pretty quiet. BUT, the Adelaidian way of life is not really to go out on an all night bender where you spend $200 on overpriced drinks, throw up in the gutter then get a greasy kebab minding your way out of the vicious street fighting on the way home, it is to go round to your mates place and chill round the pool or bbq with a couple of slabs of beer or bottles of local wine- all this and you take the kids with you so no babysitting fees either lol!

Housing is very different here to the UK as block sizes are genrally a lot bigger and land more affordable. Most people will come here and find a lovely home which is bigger than their home back in the UK, and cheaper to manage mortgage wise. Wages I think work in comparrison to the UK and although the cost of living is slightly more exoensive here the quality of fresh produce is far superior so I guess you get what you pay for. We recently returned briefly to the UK for 2 weeks and I was relieved to get home to Adelaide!

You have to work really hard to fit in with the aussie way of life and to be accepted by true blue aussie families, but if you work hard make the effort to fit into their lifestyle and realise that you chose to make the move from wherever you came from because you wanted something different and more fulfilling instead of regretting the fact there are no clubs to get in it doesn't really take too long to feel like part of the community.

 

It is true that tv programmes like wanted down under paint a pretty unrealistic picture of true life here in Australia, it is never a case of the grass is always greener here and yes we will always be the bloody whinging pom and you do have to be prepared to take all the stick that you will inevitably recieve from every aussie just for being British!! lol! I personally find the aussie breed to be a very friendly bunch, but then I kind of get their sense of humour and find it easy to laugh with them, for some it can feel to be offensive, but I seldom think that is really the case.

But, life is what you make it and if it doesn't work out for you in one place then do the research and move somewhere else, after all, you have already done all of the hard work by making the truly wonderful and brave decision to come here and try it in the first place.

A few years ago when we were in our early stages of planning our move my dad said to me that you can only ever regret the things you don't do. Everything else is just part of the great challenge that is life.

[ozzieclare2be]

yeah i second the top pub in willinga is a good night for a live band on a saturday, i know it means having a designated driver but if a few of you go you can take it in turns. Seaford hotel i find a bit feral for a night out, and tend to stick to glenelg or the city but if theres a few of you again it brings the cost of a cab down. I dont think adelaide will ever be as lively as manchester where im from but there are good times to be had in the south. Then theres often bands on at the pub on main south road morphett vale if thats your thing forgotten the name of that one though doh!!!

 

Places i eat out (more often than not its just me and alex lol

) blue cafe @moana, menolies mezzes port noalunga, portt noarlunga hotel might be good gets really really busy but never eaten there, mc claren vale chinese restaurant, oscars, el torro, the barn, blessed cheese, almond train all in mc vale. Woodstock winery also nice for lunch.

 

Sadly most things you need to drive to, apart from the new pizza place thats just opened at moana heights .

[Guest paddyhaha]

Thanks for all of your comments............. we'll still think on it. Maybe it's a cultural thing or just the atmosphere.......it could be the fact that Adelaide is considered a small country town that's the problem for us ???

 

Still............. we'll carry on looking for our utopia!!! It'll have to satisfy the three very different people in my family!

 

Glad to hear you all can see the positive's in your move. I can too.

[Diane]

I think the problem is this forum name! It should be POMSINSA not POMSINADELAIDE as very few of us people on here actually live in Adelaide!!

 

People who live in the Gold Coast in Queensland don't say they live in Brisbane do they?! People on the Mornington Peninsula don't say they live in Melbourne! When I lived just outside Hatfield Peverel in Essex I didn't say I lived in London (about 45/60 mins drive away) - I didn't even say I lived in Chelmsford (about 10 mins drive away)!

 

It's the forum's fault!

[Guest tooeasy]

I must be ferrel then some good night at seaford tavern on a saturday night with live bands

[Scousemouse]

Interesting thread this................

Adelaides small town feel is a result of the Old Adelaide Family (oafs!) mentality....and sadly the demeanour of "oh, we're free settlers here, not like the riff raff on the east coast!"

 

The sprawl of Adelaide can make socialising a bit like hard work, so maybe thats why we dont socialise the way we possibly could............being under the radar has some advantages though!!!

 

Since arriving 2 years ago, we constantly get the "why Adelaide"? when we meet new people; ..................it can be very off putting for newbies, and even those of us who aren't exactly "fresh" to the region to feel like we have to justify our reasons, and be made to feel that we have to compliment the area, on a regular basis!!

 

adelaide isnt everyones cuppa.........why should it be? I, personally enjoy most aspects of living here..............except the damn mozzies feasting on me as soon as I walk outside ( another excuse not to socialise, maybe?); so shopping isnt my idea of a great time, nor is sitting in cafe every half hour, cos i c b a with shopping on less than a gallon of coffee!

 

To get into the place takes time, and effort..............swaning around australia as a tourist isnt putting down roots, and constant sniping about the lack of this or that, comparing it to more "cosmopolitant" cities isnt fair.

 

I dont want to sound all evangelical about this great big country town, but compared to my home town,Liverpool, and the last place i lived bfore here, Cheltenham.........this place is lovely, clean, easy to navigate, and mostly, safer than either of the named places back in the UK!

[ozzieclare2be]

I must be ferrel then some good night at seaford tavern on a saturday night with live bands

 

sorry didnt mean to offend maybe it was just the times id been in there, people fighting and police called etc, im sure its not like that all the time but it really put me off !

[Guest tooeasy]

sorry didnt mean to offend maybe it was just the times id been in there, people fighting and police called etc, im sure its not like that all the time but it really put me off !

 

no offence taken i'm not easily offended

[Pesty650]

What you see is what you get in the Adelaide region. If its not here, it doesn't exist without getting on a plane to somewhere. You can't jump in the car or on a train & be in another large town or city within the hour. It's isolated and not like Europe where everything is so close together. You have to accept that to make it work here. It's an odd place where everyday routine life is enjoyable but any alternative civilisation is far away. Nothing will change much in the future, the population will rise, the urban sprawl will continue but it will always be like a town rather than a city. If it were Spain, or Italy, it would have been so much more, but its not, its Australia. If it ain't your thing, it ain't your thing. The world has something for everyone, the trick is finding where it is.