Moving Jan 15

[tim1974]

Hi All

Just a quick intro post. My name’s Tim and I’m planning on moving out next Jan. I’m a 39 year old GP very disillusioned with work here in the NHS and when the opportunity arose to work in Oz I jumped at it. I have a job lined up in Mclaren Vale starting early next year. I came out for 6 days last month to do a quick reccie for places to live and really liked Henley Beach and Brighton. I will be coming out on my own which is a bit daunting but also exciting at the same time. I did look around Aldinga and up the coast from there but I feel it may be a bit quiet. I think it will be much better for me to be in a vibrant community rather than semi rural or rural. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping to live near the beach but it’s not essential. I think I will be better placed where I can get out and about and hopefully meet people.

 

Have any other people moved out alone and found it easy to make friends and integrate? Families and couples for that matter? Are there groups like running groups etc than I can join again to meet people?

 

I am expecting to go through a roller coaster of emotions when I move I just hope I am making the right decision.

 

Look forward to hearing from you

 

Tim

[ian mc]

Hi Tim

Glenelg/ Brighton looks like it would suit you, you would be looking at about a 30 min to Mclaren vale, Glenelg is a bit of a sort of holiday resort and busy in summer and busy at weekends through out the year.

[Guest Guest12727]

Lots of running groups, just google running groups adelaide.

 

McLaren Vale is beautiful, but yes it is semi-rural so if you want to be in a livelier place Glenelg/Glenelg south/Brighten are good options. Henley is fantastic but would make your commute quite a bit longer as you would need to get from West to South suburbs. Starting Glenelg way it isn't far to the expressway and you have the advantage of going agains the main flow of traffic assuming you are working standard hours. I think the expressway upgrade will be finished by then.

[tim1974]

thank you for your replies. very useful info. the expressway was under construction in may and the existing one confusingly changed directions according to time of day. i think i’m going to look around the henley/glenelg/brighton area unless anyone has any other ideas for vibrant neighbourhoods near the city? living by the sea isn’t a prerequisite. i just want to live in an area where there is great community spirit. many thanks again for your responses:biggrin:

[Lazy Cow]

ideas for vibrant neighbourhoods near the city?

. i just want to live in an area where there is great community spirit.

 

At the risk of sounding argumentative, which would you prefer?

 

The people I know in MacLaren Vale have been there for what seems like their whole lives. They seem to know everyone, and there is a very strong sense of community. There is also a lot going on, but whether what goes on would seem too parochial for you, I don't know. I believe there are a few people on PiA who live in / around MV, (I don't) and their knowledge as migrants to their area might be different.

 

Some of the areas which might qualify as vibrant, might have a greater sense of disconnect? You know, all those young people doing their own thing. Having fun without putting down roots?

 

I don't really know. I'm not even sure that being vibrant and having a sense of community are necessarily mutually exclusive; I'm just putting the thought out there for you to consider.

 

I'm guessing that as a doctor in MV, you will be a big part of the community anyway, so perhaps you can have it all lol!

 

LC

[tim1974]

Thank you LC. I see your point. I prefer to keep where I live and where I work separate. I suppose I am looking to settle somewhere where I can integrate into a community and be involved. I am not after nightclubs or a party scene. A friendly community where folks help each other out and mix with each other is what I mean. I don’t want the “london lifestyle” where the social scene is great but no one really knows each other. Moving out on my lonesome I would like a bit of both. When I get in from work, go for a coffee or a pint etc. Somewhere I can hopefully make friends easily and build a new life if that makes sense. Thanks for your response

[flossybeth]

If it's not terribly important to you to live near the beach nor have the "London lifestyle" and you're already thinking the drive from Henley to McLaren Vale would be doable you may want to think about somewhere up in the hills - Mount Barker for instance would probably have enough going on in the evenings but would certainly have a great community feel (I think the smaller towns do that better than the western suburbs and that's after living in Lockleys with children at Henley Beach PS then moving down to MV) - there's thing like the CFS to get involved with and plenty of sporting clubs to take you on!

 

The lovely thing about coming on your own is that you can start somewhere and move relatively easily if you find it isn't quite working for you. Good luck with it though, deciding where to live in a city you don't know is definitely one of the hardest parts of the move.

[Guest Claire-n-tel]

I'm not sure I would say Glenelg has a 'community' feel at all......we love living here and we have lots of friends and a hectic social life but none of it grew from living in Glenelg.

[snifter]

I'm with Claire-n-tel, I'd not say Glenelg has a community feel. It has Jetty Road, Moseley Sq and the beach which means it attracts lots of people to the area to socialise (local and from elsewhere), meet for lunch/coffee and bring their kids or the teens meet up but it doesn't have a real community feel. Least not in the time I lived there. It was lovely to live (we were a minute or two from Jetty Rd and the tram line) and if close to Jetty Rd then its probably a good longer term spot to live if single, but if further out in one of the Glenelg suburbs then its much like most other beach and city suburbs really. Has plenty of events taking place over the year which is nice but if the event running is not your thing then its usually not that much interest to pitch up.

 

A lot of the beachside living in Glenelg is apartment living and not really sure how that might feel to live as a single person in the long term.

[Guest Guest12727]

This is tricky Tim as I really think it is pockets, rather than distinct suburbs in many cases. Sometimes it is just about being lucky with your neighbours.

 

I agree that some of the hills locations might suit you, although I wouldn't count Mt Barker in that one as it has had massive new development and therefore attracts a lot of young families. These probably aren't the sort of places you are looking for. I would look at Stirling and maybe Belair for the hills.

 

A lot of thought is going into the redevelopment of some of the inner city suburbs. For example Bowden, which is very close to the West side of the City. However much of it isn't built yet although I believe the first residents moved in last month. The whole place is being built to provide a community feel and there are already some aspects of this evident with community veggie gardens and great public spaces. http://lifemoreinteresting.com.au/

This is also very close to things like the Entertainment Centre and "The Gov" (which has a lot of live bands http://www.thegov.com.au/) and is a short tram ride to the city centre.

Near there also is Elizabeth St (known as Queen St) Croydon http://www.weekendnotes.com/elizabeth-street-croydon/

 

If you want to keep further South, you might like Parkside (just South of the CBD) Dulwich or Unley. Unley Rd is full of cafes, restaurants etc, but whether it has what you are looking for I don't know. Many professionals who may be too busy - but who knows how lucky you are with your neighbours. We lived in Parkside and loved it. Great location and the pub there is pretty well known, The Earl of Leicester http://www.earl.com.au/.

 

As some-one else said, you have the beauty of being single and it will be worth you getting a short term accommodation initially and then trying out these places for yourself, see if you like the area and check out your commute.

[Jessica Berry]

I came out to Australia on my own back in the 90's on a working holiday visa and was here for just over a year and had a great time. I didn't find being on my own a problem and enjoyed the experience. In fact, I enjoyed my time here so much I emigrated with my OH 10 years later to Adelaide.

 

We are a similar age to yourself with no children. When we arrived after an initial 2 week stay at temporary accommodation, we rented in Goodwood. We didn't really know any of the suburbs, just some to avoid! We went to look at an apartment in the city and the real estate agent said to us "I have the perfect place for you" and told us to meet her there the next day and showed us the unit in Goodwood (which was furnished as well, which we were looking for as we sold up our property and contents before we came and just brought out our suitcases mainly full of clothes!). We didn't have any idea about the suburb, but it was close to the city and OH could catch the tram into the city where he had secured a job and I could take the car to my job so we didn't need to buy a second car, it was close to the shops, we only had to sign a 6 month lease (often they are 12 months) and we got a good 'feel' for the area so we rented it!

 

When we were looking to buy a house, we looked at many areas, but ended up buying a house around the same area. If you look around the Unley area and the surrounding suburbs there are some good areas. We find it a safe, friendly area. There are plenty of coffee shops and restaurants around, we can drive into the city within 10-15 minutes, have access to buses, trains and the tram and drive to a variety of beaches within 15-20 minutes, we are close to the airport and when we go away we just catch a taxi to the airport and it only costs around $20. I used to work in the South and I didn't have an issue driving South as I was going the opposite way to the traffic. In fact, I have worked all over Adelaide and I find it is a pretty useful starting point to go in any direction for work and I usually find I am going in the opposite direction to the heavy traffic.

 

Of course what is suitable for one person, might not be right for another, it is all down to personal preference.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Jessica Berry

[Guest Guest12727]

Hi All

Just a quick intro post. My name’s Tim and I’m planning on moving out next Jan. I’m a 39 year old GP very disillusioned with work here in the NHS and when the opportunity arose to work in Oz I jumped at it. I have a job lined up in Mclaren Vale starting early next year. I came out for 6 days last month to do a quick reccie for places to live and really liked Henley Beach and Brighton. I will be coming out on my own which is a bit daunting but also exciting at the same time. I did look around Aldinga and up the coast from there but I feel it may be a bit quiet. I think it will be much better for me to be in a vibrant community rather than semi rural or rural. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping to live near the beach but it’s not essential. I think I will be better placed where I can get out and about and hopefully meet people.

 

Have any other people moved out alone and found it easy to make friends and integrate? Families and couples for that matter? Are there groups like running groups etc than I can join again to meet people?

 

I am expecting to go through a roller coaster of emotions when I move I just hope I am making the right decision.

 

Look forward to hearing from you

 

Tim

 

Hi Tim,

I saw this about running and remembered you asking about running groups in Adelaide. It may be of interest to you.

http://www.weekendnotes.com/a-runners-guide-adelaide/?sb=1&i=1&j=2&k=1&wemid=41844&wuid=467678&ap=7ChtpOJaKX

[tim1974]

Sorry for the delay, haven’t managed to log on for a while but thank you for the very useful information