What is Adelaide like for a newly arrived family?

[Guest Palepoms]

We are currently going through the visa process and hope to move down under some time this year.

 

We are a family of four, with one Girl (11 in August ) and a boy (7 in April). I am a beauty therapist and my hubby is a carpenter, we have both been self employed for many years in the UK but would probably like to be employed in Oz.

 

Before we had the children we spent a year in Oz, we spent most of this time in Sydney which we loved. However, this time we are looking for a more family friendly area. We have heard excellent reports on Melbourne

but we are also very interested in Adelaide so would love your comments. Can anyone point us in the right direction so that we can do a bit of research at this end. Where's a family friendly place to live with good schools? Where are the best beaches, parks, leisure centres etc, how's the jobs market?

 

Thanks

Jenni

[Guest Claire-n-tel]

Hi Jenni, Your questions are all a bit open, probably the first thing to do is to sit and go through this forum, you will find hundreds of posts on areas, schools, suburbs etc. Also the are several adelaide immigration websites where you can get info.

 

What visa are you coming on? You say you are hoping to come this year but not sure which city to live in even?......It sounds like you need to do a lot of research and talking about what you want as a family as a first stop.

 

It is a very exciting time good luck:jiggy:

[Guest Guest75]

Hi Jenni - good advice from the old and wise Claire..............

 

 

Adelaide is well known as a family friendly city ,especially towards migrating families.

 

It's a lot more relaxed and the kids do just have a safe,clean and fantastic environment to grow up in.

 

Good ages to bring your kids out as well. Our daughter was 10 when we came out,she settled well.

[Guest Palepoms]

Hi, thanks for your advise. We are hoping to come on the 190 Skilled State Nominated Visa if he gets a level 8 on his ielts test ( should get the results end of jan) this is his 3rd time he keeps on getting 9,9,8.5 & 7 in the writing :-(. If we cannot get the level required we will be applying for the 489 Skilled Regional Designated Area Visa at the beginning of Feb. Xx

[Bal67]

Hi, thanks for your advise. We are hoping to come on the 190 Skilled State Nominated Visa if he gets a level 8 on his ielts test ( should get the results end of jan) this is his 3rd time he keeps on getting 9,9,8.5 & 7 in the writing :-(. If we cannot get the level required we will be applying for the 489 Skilled Regional Designated Area Visa at the beginning of Feb. Xx

 

Hi Jenni,

 

Thats what we did in the end after 7 attempts hubby just could not get 8 in writing and whilst doing that hubbys jobs came off skills list for Perth where we had originally decided to go and went there and fell in love etc etc, so now we are coming to Adelaide and done loads more research and it seems just as beautiful as Perth but more affordable it seems so thats a bonus too, we are just waiting for our house to sell and then we intend to start living our life as it seems to have been on hold for the last 2 years, you just need to start looking areas and where you can get work and decent schools we are looking at Port Noarlunga, Seaford, Chrisities Beach area so we will get a rental to start off with and then have a look around at the areas and take it from there!! We also have 2 children but they will be at secondary schools.

 

Good luck and please pm me if I can help you at all.

 

Bal

[Guest Palepoms]

Hi, the areas we are looking to settle are parkside, glenelg or norwood please can anyone advise me what they are like? We are submitting our EOI next week :-)))) for the 489 visa . So hopefully we will be out there this summer sometime x

[snifter]

Glenelg has three parts to it, north, south and east. Am not a fan of Glenelg North so much, and south runs into Brighton, which if you happen to have kids in high school, is better to base for the Brighton High School zone. Although some parts of Glenelg East fall in the zone.

 

Tbh it's pretty expensive to buy round here. Rental units are plenty and cheapish but houses not so easy to find.

 

I like it for the beach (we live within easy walking distance of it), the tram line to the city and the bike path also. And Jetty Road for its shops along a street, plus the supermarkets. Don't really make much use of Moseley Square for nights out. Having said that we are not living here long term and are looking to buy hopefully in the hills. If we could buy a bigger house in the great location we are currently in, fab, but that isn't happening, so elsewhere we go

 

Why are you considering Glenelg? Some lovely parts to the suburbs but I feel they are often over rated as suburbs to live IMHO. Not as many kids seem to be around here. I think this has much to do with he vast amount of units let to couples, singles and so on, while the houses may have families, there is still an older population in the housing market I get the impression. At least round here.

 

Having said all that, I prefer it in Glenelg to further south along the coast, I like the buzz it has along jetty road and the beach area and so on. If we wanted a beach suburb to settle long term in we'd be looking to stay here or Henley Beach. Both are good areas IMO, just as anywhere, depends on where you are and so on.

Edited May 30, 2014 by snifter

[snifter]

Fwiw they are expanding the Brighton high school zone so it's worth checking where it will fall etc with a view to houses round here.

[Hedy Elnemr]

Hi, the areas we are looking to settle are parkside, glenelg or norwood please can anyone advise me what they are like? We are submitting our EOI next week :-)))) for the 489 visa . So hopefully we will be out there this summer sometime x

 

Hi , I also applied for SA 489 visa, awaiting the golden grant letter now (hopefully within a week or so).. I needed a 7 in IELTS writing but had a 6.5 (how disappointing) .. we are a family of four ..expecting to land to Adelaide by end of 2014 .. Soooo thrilled, tensed, worried but also happy :-)

[BillyJo]

We are hoping to come on the 190 Skilled State Nominated Visa if he gets a level 8 on his ielts test

 

I feel the pressure

 

I am waiting on my results (tomorrow) and i too need a score of 8 in each area.

 

Best of luck you guys......keep on reading all of the posts in here....and use the search function........and keep us updated on how it's going!

[Guest kezza01]

Hi all, we are a family of 5 and have only just started the ball rolling towards the big move to Oz. We are all so exciting but I know we have a long, long way to go. I have booked my husband In to do the general English test on the 15th march. can anyone give some tips on getting through the test please?

 

we are looking at moving to Adelaide but not sure which area for primary school and high school? we will be renting a furnished house (holiday let) to start of with so quite flexible with areas. Are there any areas to avoid?

 

I have been doing lots of homework but have noticed that a lot of what I read is from 2007 which is not very helpful as we all know things change. any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Kerry

[BillyJo]

If you PM me kezza i will give advice on IELTS.

[Guest Lou1978]

Hi jenni, I've just come across your thread. My husband is a carpenter and I'm a beauty therapist. We have 2 little boys and are planning on coming to adelaide on a state nominated visa. Unfortunately our first choice is Perth but my husband would need a band 8 in all 4 ielts exams. After 3 attempts he has managed to get 7s so we can get into adelaide on a state nomination for 4 years and plan would be to apply for residency from there. Has your husband done much research into carpentery? I know it's on the shortage list but with the research we've done it doesn't appear to be in that demand. Beauty will always get work so. Not really worried about my career. Be nice to get in touch with you as your in the exact same boat as us, Lou x

[Guest Palepoms]

Hi Lou,

 

Thank you for your advise. My OH has now passed his ielts test with 8's and 9's ( his 4th attempt) in the end we paid for a dyslexia test and it came back he was, so he got 50% extra time which made a massive difference on the writing tasks. It's so deflating isn't it for them ( I'm just glad I didn't have to do it as I won't even get a level 4!) We have put an EOI in for 189 independent visa, however we are looking at Adelaide and Melbourne. If we are not successful after 4 rounds ( we have already gone one round with no invite) we are going to apply for the 190 visa for Adelaide. As for the work situation your right there isn't much for him looks like quite a bit for me tho. I think it's all about proving your self. Have you submitted your EOI yet? I feel so sick waiting for the email to come through! We are going to the seminar in Gilford on Sunday are you going? I'm not even sure what area your from? Also how old are your boys? I feel like my life has been on hold I have got one foot in OZ and one foot hear :-(. If we don't catch up I hope it all works out for you guys. You can PM me if you wish. Jx

[Hedy Elnemr]

This is a very useful thread to me personally.. am doing the required homework now on where to settle in Adelaide ( am granted 489).. and I found that Brighton and surroundings will be very suitable to us (considering schools).. am now looking for a short stay till we settle for a long stay rental. . Any suggestions? Am checking stayz and Gumtree. . Any other recommendation?

[snifter]

This is a very useful thread to me personally.. am doing the required homework now on where to settle in Adelaide ( am granted 489).. and I found that Brighton and surroundings will be very suitable to us (considering schools).. am now looking for a short stay till we settle for a long stay rental. . Any suggestions? Am checking stayz and Gumtree. . Any other recommendation?

 

You may be better posting this in it's own thread in the renting and real estate area of the forum. It may not get seen by many otherwise. Also lots of threads there with info on the area.

 

Brighton high school is zoned and it doesn't cover a large area. Rentals in the zone can be pricey and are in demand but you should be able to secure a year lease to meet the zone requirements.

[Hedy Elnemr]

Thank you Snifter.. I appreciate your reply