Adelaide, here we come and we need plenty of advice too :)

[Guest atre]

Hello there!

 

 

A quick intro, writing in from Dubai. We are planning to do our first landing in Sep/Oct this year and so research on various things are on.

 

 

I had a couple of Qs:

 

 

1. I would be travelling with my husband and two kids (one aged 6 yrs old and the other probably 4months old by then). I wish to rent a small place with an attached kitchenette(to be able to cook for self), maybe even a studio would do for the short time that we would be there. Is it easy to find such an option available? If yes, which areas and which URLs should I be focusing on to get such a place.

 

 

2. Am a HR professional(Training and related roles) and my husband, the primary applicant is from Facilities Management(Building service managers) background. We have a SS from SA. Thus would need to know if you are familiar with specific recruiters/companies to approach in these fields. We have a general understanding but a first hand info from someone living in Adelaide would definitely be more helpful.

 

 

3. My son studies in an IB school here and I would like him to continue with the same there. I have shortlisted 3 public schools offering IB(Linden Park Primary, Rose Park Primary & Stradbroke Primary) and am aware they are all bound by catchment areas. Though its my recce trip at the moment, if all works well, I would like to enrol him for the next academic year beginning in Jan 2015. I have mixed information about getting a place to rent - I have heard that it is very difficult to find a place to rent despite having the money in many areas(many of which are considered to be within the catchment area of these schools as well) just because you are an expat without a permanent job. Is that true or do they have a mid path where you can actually pay- say a 6 month rent in advance and ensure the child's education doesn't get tampered with while the parents are busy getting themselves permanently employed?

 

 

Your responses to these queries are much appreciated.

 

 

Thanks in advance.

[Diane]

Welcome to the site.

 

With regards getting a place to stay during your recce, have a look at http://www.airbnb.com.au - there are quite a few places on there now for Adelaide.

 

For jobs, keep an eye on http://www.seek.com.au or http://www.careerone.com.au and you should get an idea of which agencies deal with jobs in your particular areas of expertise.

 

For rentals, I don't think the rental market is as tight as it has been in the past, and primary schools are usually not quite as strict on catchment areas as the high schools, so as long as you have some references etc you shouldn't have too much trouble finding somewhere - offering rent up front, or taking proof that you have enough money to cover you while you look for jobs - such as copies of bank statements etc - is usually enough.

[NicF]

My kids go to Stradbroke primary and as far as I am aware it doesn't currently have a zone - there are kids from all over that go, including the odd international student. Rentals in and around the Rostrevor area are plentiful and not difficult to secure. Some rentals are in much better condition than others though and the nice ones don't stay on the market long, but they are not difficult to secure. Try looking on realestate.com.au for rentals in the areas you are looking for. If you have a look once a week for a month or so you will see how quickly properties turn over.

 

For short term holiday type rentals try Stayz.com.au or takeabreak.com.au.

[Guest Guest75]

Welcome to the site.

 

With regards getting a place to stay during your recce, have a look at www.airbnb.com.au - there are quite a few places on there now for Adelaide.

 

Have a look at some of the trusted members on here who have furnished rentals as well.

Most advertise of airbnb and the other holiday sites but booking direct is a lot cheaper!

 

Safer too - COMING SOON--- yet another scammer stopped in their tracks advertising a furnished rental that was not even theirs!!!:shocked:

 

Can't tell the full and true tale yet though:realmad:

[Toni]

Have a look at some of the trusted members on here who have furnished rentals as well.

Most advertise of airbnb and the other holiday sites but booking direct is a lot cheaper!

 

Safer too - COMING SOON--- yet another scammer stopped in their tracks advertising a furnished rental that was not even theirs!!!:shocked:

 

Can't tell the full and true tale yet though:realmad:

 

What Tyke says is true. It was one of my homes that was listed on an obscure site that does have a bad reputation. They had copied my photos and words from a listing site. I don't know how I came across it but I was quite shocked when I saw it because I hadn't put it there! I reported it to the Police and Scamwatch but the Police couldn't do anything because I hadn't "lost" anything and Scamwatch are probably only good for reporting a scam not for doing anything about it. It's probably a bit of a needle in a haystack trying to find these people anyway. In the end they finally got shut down but it took a few days of emails. The thing to watch out with scammers is that they are really cagey about giving you a phone number and for some reason they want you to send them money via Western Union. I think it must be harder to track that way or something. Always look for reviews of an accommodation provider. Like Tyke says a lot of members who offer accommodation on this site also list on some of the other well know sites too like Airbnb. It does cost you more because there is an advertising and commission paid to most of those sites. Thanks to Tyke for helping me on trouble shooting some of this. It was hard to know how to deal with it, especially when all the authorities couldn't do anything about it.

[Guest atre]

Thanks everyone.

So I gather you are suggesting that it is better to pay a certain charge on the better known websites and be safer than sorry.

 

NicF, honestly I liked Stradbroke after reading your posts earlier about the school. Glad to know that they are not yet into the catchment area per se. Also, could you also throw some light on what the school demographics is like. Is it a mixed environment? I love Dubai for its multi ethnic population and personally find it very useful as we try to evolve and raise our kids too as global citizens.

[Jessica Berry]

Am a HR professional(Training and related roles) and my husband, the primary applicant is from Facilities Management(Building service managers) background. We have a SS from SA. Thus would need to know if you are familiar with specific recruiters/companies to approach in these fields. We have a general understanding but a first hand info from someone living in Adelaide would definitely be more helpful.

 

I work in HR/Recruitment/Training roles. HR is difficult to get into and there is a lot of competition for the roles. I know of 3 HR professionals at a senior level (previous colleagues) that are struggling to gain work and have only managed to pick up short term contracts or part-time work. The Adelaide job market can be a strange one and I could give you all sorts of examples of someone being in the right place at the right time and securing work, so nothing is out of the question. I have moved into a training role as there is less competition for the roles compared to HR/Recruitment in the current economic climate.

[NicF]

 

NicF, honestly I liked Stradbroke after reading your posts earlier about the school. Glad to know that they are not yet into the catchment area per se. Also, could you also throw some light on what the school demographics is like. Is it a mixed environment? I love Dubai for its multi ethnic population and personally find it very useful as we try to evolve and raise our kids too as global citizens.

 

The school always seems to me to be very multicultural. The kids have been in classes with kids who are from (or whose parents are from) places like Korea, Japan, China, Sri Lanka, Russia, Greece, Italy, UK and USA. If you have a look on the Stradbroke school website you should be able to find something called the Context Statement. This should give some information about the numbers of students from different demographics, as well as lots of interesting information about the school and the approach to learning etc. All schools should have a context statement and when I was researching I found most of them on the schools websites - they are well worth a look.

[Guest Watkinsfamily]

We moved from Abu Dhabi to Adelaide in July 2013 me, my husband and our 2 sons aged 2 years and 4 months at the time. Whilst there are some things I miss we have not looked back even though we are still not in permanent jobs. Love the weather and lifestyle. Only advice is bring as much with you as you can as it is more expensive here everything from cleaning products, personal products, electrical items and bedding. Good luck you won't regret it if you have moved already to Dubai the move here is not so hard except the additional distance from friends and family. X

[Guest atre]

Brilliant. Thanks so much again.good to know someone who has seen the luxuries of the Middle East and is still recommending we make the move.

 

Any one from Building Service Management here to share insights on the current industry trends. Have not heard anything from the lot on any of the forums that I've registered on so far. Jokingly I say this to DH that the service industry folks are so done serving in their workplaces that you'll never find anyone being helpful on forums like these.

[Jessica Berry]

Have a look at some of the trusted members on here who have furnished rentals as well.

Most advertise of airbnb and the other holiday sites but booking direct is a lot cheaper!

 

Safer too - COMING SOON--- yet another scammer stopped in their tracks advertising a furnished rental that was not even theirs!!!:shocked:

 

Can't tell the full and true tale yet though:realmad:

 

 

I heard a funny/disturbing story about someone they know that was looking for a room to rent. A room in a shared house was advertised on Gumtree and the person rang up and it all sounded ok, until they asked if there was anything else they needed to know. The person said part of the deal was they were expected to do some cleaning in the house, ok fair enough they thought until they heard the next bit, you needed to clean in the nude!!!! So be careful people!