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Adelaide... your thoughts please...

Adelaide... your thoughts please...

Old Jul 22nd 2013, 10:42 pm
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Smile Adelaide... your thoughts please...

My husband has enquired about a job in Adelaide. What's it like in a nutshell? We have 2 girls 7&12, so schooling important to me. Thanks xx
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Old Jul 23rd 2013, 2:55 am
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

Hi, Where are you now? We were in Perth and were relocated to Whyalla in South Australia, which is terrible! Adelaide is 4 hours drive for us but we go at least once a month to keep sane. It is quite small as far as cities go. The traffic is usually pretty terrible. The city itself is very nice though. It is older than Perth, and feels a bit more english with some older buildings and a bit of culture. Glenelg is nice, it is by the sea and quite a small place but great in the sun.
There are all the usual shopping centres, sports facilities, parks and they are building a new stadium and developing the railway system.
I don't know much on the schools sorry, I guess that depends on which suburb you end up settling in.
Adelaide hills are nice, particularly in winter when it is nice and green. I've not been yet but the Barossa and Clare valley are apparently very nice full of vineyards similar to in Margaret River.
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Old Jul 23rd 2013, 3:36 am
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

My two daughters both live there: one in Hawthornedene which is in the hills south of the CBD, the other in Mitchell Park which is a plains suburb closer in to the CBD. Their children are in the 5-9 age group and the schools they go to (Hawthornedene and Edwardstown) both seem good.

I like Adelaide and lived there for many years: I'd move back if there was any work there for me. Fairly compact city with easy access to good beaches (on the Gulf - if you want surfing you have to go further south) and the Adelaide Hills which have spectacular scenery. Plenty of things to do and places to visit.
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Old Jul 23rd 2013, 5:19 am
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

Originally Posted by AdynLucyC
My husband has enquired about a job in Adelaide. What's it like in a nutshell? We have 2 girls 7&12, so schooling important to me. Thanks xx
I have heard horror stories involving:
- high standard of food and beverages and unheard of customer service making other places in Australia poor in comparison.
- traffic congestion 24/7/365 including up to 5 cars in one instance at a set of lights that in turn took a full 40 seconds to turn.
- Cases of low class numbers are rife with some teachers actually spending time teaching.
- Workers have been forced to endure 36 hour weeks with 15 min commutes, time to keep quiet all everyone will be expecting this treatment
- High availability of housing at attainable pricing?? What is going on here?
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Old Jul 23rd 2013, 6:18 am
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

The place is hot as Hades and very dry in Summer - temps of 40oC are very common. Also water quality is poor and summer restrictions are common. It is also a long way from anywhere and poorly connected even by air.
On the plus side it is architectually pretty, great Arts scene and housing is affordable together with some of Australia's best wines out of the Clare and Barossa Valleys. Try and live on the South Coast side and commute into the city - it will be much cooler in Summer.
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Old Jul 23rd 2013, 7:06 am
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

This bloke loves the place

http://brisbanetimes.drive.com.au/mo...723-2qgn4.html
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Old Jul 23rd 2013, 7:10 am
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Poor bloke was just trying to make a fresh start in a new town..........just misunderstood that's what he is
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Old Jul 24th 2013, 1:18 am
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

We loved Adelaide - didn't live in it but it was our closest city to shop, sporting events etc so we'd visit every few weeks

Getting around is extremely easy, grid pattern so fairly straight forward to quickly learn the lay of the land.

Suburbs vary a lot, as all cities. You can live near the hills, or the beach or in CBD, depending on work and preference. You'll find the city child friendly at most times (Hindley Street is a different education after the witching hour!).

There are a lot of posts about the schools, areas on this forum, well worth a search.
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Old Jul 24th 2013, 3:45 am
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

Originally Posted by KJCherokee
My two daughters both live there: one in Hawthornedene which is in the hills south of the CBD, the other in Mitchell Park which is a plains suburb closer in to the CBD. Their children are in the 5-9 age group and the schools they go to (Hawthornedene and Edwardstown) both seem good.

I like Adelaide and lived there for many years: I'd move back if there was any work there for me. Fairly compact city with easy access to good beaches (on the Gulf - if you want surfing you have to go further south) and the Adelaide Hills which have spectacular scenery. Plenty of things to do and places to visit.
Hawthorndene is lovely, as is Blackwood. Lovely part of the Hills
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Old Jul 24th 2013, 3:57 am
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

Originally Posted by AdynLucyC
My husband has enquired about a job in Adelaide. What's it like in a nutshell? We have 2 girls 7&12, so schooling important to me. Thanks xx
As anything, it all depends onwhat you are looking for. Some people think Adelaide is boring with nothing to do, but there are plenty of things to do if you are interested in what is around and you go looking for it.

It is a child friendly city, with the main shopping area, Rundle Mall, being pedestrianised. There are often street entertainers and artists performing and when the comedy and art festivals are on, there is a great vibe.

We live south of the city in the inner Hills and for us, it is a lovely area. The kids are enjoying their school and have joined a brilliant local scout goroup. We have easy access to the city if we need it, 10 mins from some great family friendly beaches and we can just walk down the road to find some great reserves and walks. Our local shopping area is just 10 minutes down the road, with one of the biggest malls in SA which has cinema, bowling, restaurants etc.

In the city there is the Zoo and the Museum of SA on North Terrace which is free. It's a lovely walk down North Terrace too with some lovely buildings, statues and other interesting things and you can also get to the riverwalk which is very pretty. BIke hire is free in the city and as it is flat, it is a good way of getting around. Lots of art galleries and other smaller musems are around and you can aways go on a church hunt

Schooling is generally of a pretty good standard, but I can only speak of Primary education. We use the public system and are happy with the school the kids are at. Zoning for high schools is something to think about, unless you prefer to go the private route for high school. There are plenty of decent private schools around, but you will find the costs vary hugely between schools. This link should give you an idea on how to choose schools

Schools SA

Just ask if you have any specific questions
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Old Jul 24th 2013, 11:09 am
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

Originally Posted by AdynLucyC
My husband has enquired about a job in Adelaide. What's it like in a nutshell? We have 2 girls 7&12, so schooling important to me. Thanks xx
In a nutshell, it's nice.
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Old Jul 24th 2013, 9:22 pm
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

Originally Posted by rasen78
Hawthorndene is lovely, as is Blackwood. Lovely part of the Hills
If we ever move back to SA, Blackwood will be the area we look at first. Drive south out of the CBD and you hit the bushland of the Hills at the bottom of Belair or Old Belair roads: up those roads winding through the countryside you think you've left the suburbs behind, then you pop out at the top and run down past Belair and Glenalta into a little country town called Blackwood.

Mind you, approaching it via Shepherds Hill Road you realise that you are still in the suburbs all the way! That's mainly because you are following the railway which allows a good commute into the city.
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Old Jul 24th 2013, 10:16 pm
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

Originally Posted by KJCherokee
If we ever move back to SA, Blackwood will be the area we look at first. Drive south out of the CBD and you hit the bushland of the Hills at the bottom of Belair or Old Belair roads: up those roads winding through the countryside you think you've left the suburbs behind, then you pop out at the top and run down past Belair and Glenalta into a little country town called Blackwood.

Mind you, approaching it via Shepherds Hill Road you realise that you are still in the suburbs all the way! That's mainly because you are following the railway which allows a good commute into the city.
I had a coffee in Blackwood at the weekend while I was looking at houses there. It really is a nice area, and compared with the plain, houses are only "unaffordable" instead of "severely unaffordable"... which is a big difference!! Good atmosphere up there, for sure. Good schools, great parks, and very chilled out.
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Old Aug 17th 2013, 1:44 pm
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

Hi,

Lived in Adelaide for a couple of years and worked a good part of the state: we loved the lifestyle - lots of clubs and sports for the kids, great cycling culture, fab wines, friendly people and a developing city make for a good lifestyle. It is low density, lowest skyline of the major cities and fairly spread out. For schools, there are plenty of choices and, in general, you get what you pay for. Temperature wise, it is cool to cold in winter, with a whole lot of micro seasons in between. Hottest I saw was 45 degrees and it can be hot for days to weeks in a row. Hot is defined as anything above around 36ish.
Great place to live and work, lots of choice around different lifestyles: beach, hills, city, suburban.

That said, I am now a Queenslander with a son playing rugby league......go the Maroons!
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Old Aug 18th 2013, 10:43 pm
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Default Re: Adelaide... your thoughts please...

I have lived in Adelaide since 2005 and love the place.
I work in the city and the commute from the hill side area of Belair.
For me its a 15min train ride or a 20 min car ride.

I lived in a north west suburb called North Haven and it was an easy train journey or drive into the city from Outer Harbour.

But I also lived in a Southern area called Hallett Cove but the journey in on the train was long (40 mins express) and at least an 1 hour in as Anzac Highway is a nightmare.

Saying all that Adelaide kicks ass to travel in compared to the other cities but the population is very dense compared to the other cities.

House prices I feel are expensive but I feel some of the plots are very different in size (Hills especially) and design and are justified.

Also Adelaide has very old traditional houses and the place has a lot of character.

I know little about the schools but good choices to select from public to private. I do have a 9month old so I'm sure I have all this to come.

We do get all 4 seasons, 3 you can cope with, but summers are very dry and hot and on some days trains have been suspended due to the buckling of the tracks. I believe the new sleepers put on the tracks during the upgrade will alleviate this problem.

There are lots of place to visit and see incl the wineries, musuems, zoo's, beaches, etc.
They have some great festivals and deserves its title 'The festival state".
They also call it the '20 minute' city but I think it takes longer now to get to places.

Anyway I love the place and despite visiting Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne - I prefer it by far.

Not too busy like the major metropolitan cities. It gets the title of a "big country town" and I believe that describes the place well.

Best of luck in whereever you choose to go.
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