Hello Everyone

[philkin]

Hi Everyone,

 

We are new to this forum and glad I found it as we are heading to Adelaide in the new year and a bit scared.

Myself Phil, my wife Tracey and daughter Jessica and 3 golden retrievers all looking forward to meeting up and will prob need lots of help/advise

 

We currently live in Romford, Essex and will be heading out with resident visas but nothing else sorted out lol, although I will be arriving in Adelaide first to try and sort out a rental home and get a few things sorted like car etc.

 

I currently work in IT as an engineer so hoping to be in a similar role, my wife Tracey is a website administrator & Jessica works part time as a care assistant for elderly.

 

Hopefully the first of many posts

 

All the best

Phil

[NicF]

Welcome to the forum. Exciting times for you all right now. Slightly scary as well though. Have you got somewhere booked to stay when you first arrive?

[philkin]

Hi,

Nothing booked yet, I will be arriving early feb so any advice as to where to stay will be great.

[Blossom]

Welcome to the forum. :-)

[snifter]

Hi,

Nothing booked yet, I will be arriving early feb so any advice as to where to stay will be great.

 

Hello and welcome to the forum

 

Check out our members with furnished short term rentals, one of them may have availability or a cancellation.

 

http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/rentals-available/

 

I know @Tamara (Homes Down Under) just the other day updated her rentals availability.

 

 

 

If you are planning to rent with 3 dogs you may well be advised to put together a rental pack to present to potential landlords. Be prepared to offer a bit extra bond or some such to help secure. Also keep in mind that councils have rules regarding how many dogs per property and it may be you need to apply for a permit for 3, so check any suburbs you like and their council rules. 3 can generally be kept on a rural property without any extra paperwork iirc.

 

For example, Onkaparinga (covers a large area down south and into the hills) has this

 

http://onkaparingacity.com/onka/living_here/pets_animals/dogs/number_of_dogs.jsp

 

Mitcham council has this (some of the eastern, south eastern suburbs)

 

http://www.mitchamcouncil.sa.gov.au/webdata/resources/files/dogbylaw6.pdf

 

Holdfast Bay council has this (covers some western coastal suburbs and around)

 

https://www.holdfast.sa.gov.au/dogs

 

Basically, its usually 2 but a permit can be applied for to keep a 3rd. There are of course other councils, I've just given you an example of a few. Our neighbour has more than 2 now on their property. They asked neighbours first. They are smaller dogs the new ones. TBH its getting to be a pain now as they are outside all day and bark lots more than when there were just the two big dogs. I'm hopeful the extra ones will be moving on soon as they belong to one of their adult kids who moved back in with them for a while.

[ExploringAdelaide]

Wow! Great response Snifter! Love all the info :-)

 

I love how helpful everyone is on this forum.

 

Welcome Phil, Tracey, Jessica and the 3 golden retrievers! Most people here have had the experience of moving to Adelaide, or are in the same boat as you. Don't be scared, we are all here to help :-)

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Welcome!

Give yourself a little extra time to secure a pet friendly rental. There are many rentals accepting pets (Australia has a very high dog ownership rate) but three dogs may be an issue with many "pets negotiable" rentals. I have friends who live nearby...she's a web designer and works in the city although they are flexible and allow her lots of time to work from home as two small children now. Jessica should find work easily enough...there's a shortage of care positions (daughter in law doing a training course at present) and another soon to be daughter in law has just secured a position!

The search function is really useful as there are many past topics that are real interesting and useful.

All the best with your move.

[philkin]

Hi everyone and thank you for your welcomes,

 

A special thank you to Snifter and Tamara for all your wonderful information and help.

 

Our 3 golden retriever girls are all very well behaved show dogs and there is non of that barking so if we have to provide a pack maybe we can get some references here if that would help. Thank you for the links Snifter I have saved them for Tracey to look at.

 

Tamara thank you for the rental help (I see you have some lovely rentals) and positive thoughts on the job front, I am sure many of you have been through this process but just so much to think about and sort out.

 

The idea is that I will try and find a rental before Tracey & Jessica arrive in April, the dogs will be in Melbourne for quarantine for 10days before we can get them.

 

Whats the best way to get a car, private or dealer or should I rent to start with ?

 

 

It is scary but exciting at the same time.

[Jessica Berry]

Hi Phil, Tracey and Jessica

 

Welcome to the forum, it is always great to hear of new people joining and following their journey.

 

My OH works in IT and has found his skills has been in demand from week one of us arriving. Obviously it depends on your skill set, attitude, approach and expectation regarding work, but compared to many other industries, in my opinion the IT industry is fairly healthy in Adelaide.

 

I am not sure what qualifications Jessica has, but generally with a Carer role, employers are looking for an Australian Cert III qualification. Have a look at seek.com.au to get an idea of the skills and qualifications employers are requesting.

[philkin]

Hi Jessica,

 

Thank You for the info regarding IT work as that is a worrie for me, I have worked with small businesses covering all aspects of IT support and engineering.

 

We have all been looking at seek.com and that has been helpful, Jessica needs to find out how her training converts to the Cert qualification.

 

Have a lovely Christmas

 

Phil Tracey & Jessica

[Jessica Berry]

Jessica needs to find out how her training converts to the Cert qualification.

 

Jessica may be able to get RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) for some of the units. However if she has the opportunity to complete some of the study in a classroom environment, with a reputable training organisation (if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, eg gain a Cert III qualification in a day for $50!) this would give her the opportunity to mix with new people and maybe make friends (one of my good friends is someone I attended a course of study with and we made friends on the course), understand the Aussie way of doing things, maybe gain employment (companies often approach Colleges for students and as a Trainer you will pick the best of the bunch to put forward) and it can be a useful way as a new arrival to gain a referee by asking the Trainer if they are willing to do it.

[philkin]

Hi Jessica,

 

Thank You,

 

That is a great idea and I agree with doing things the right way but if needed Jessica would be happy to take classes, Also agree with making friends through the same interests.

 

I am quite lucky to be MCP qualified which I hope is already recognised.

[Jessica Berry]

I am quite lucky to be MCP qualified which I hope is already recognised.

 

Yes, MCP is recognised. You IT guys have it easy (well that's what I tell the OH ). It certainly does make for an easier transition into work.

[wozzie2202]

Hi Everyone,

 

We are new to this forum and glad I found it as we are heading to Adelaide in the new year and a bit scared.

Myself Phil, my wife Tracey and daughter Jessica and 3 golden retrievers all looking forward to meeting up and will prob need lots of help/advise

 

We currently live in Romford, Essex and will be heading out with resident visas but nothing else sorted out lol, although I will be arriving in Adelaide first to try and sort out a rental home and get a few things sorted like car etc.

 

I currently work in IT as an engineer so hoping to be in a similar role, my wife Tracey is a website administrator & Jessica works part time as a care assistant for elderly.

 

Hopefully the first of many posts

 

All the best

Phil

 

 

Hi Phil

 

We're also about to make the move to Adelaide (myself, husband, Mark and 2 daughters age 10 and 6 and our Boston Terrier). We fly out on 5th April and like you we will both be actively looking for jobs; myself in HR/ Training and my husband in Transport/ Logistics (or anything he can turn his hand to!) It's certainly daunting....notices being handed in to work this week! We're heading out from Northants I'm glad to have got christmas out of the way so we can start to plan in earnest now. Got first months' accommodations booked in Semaphore and will need to focus on longer term rental. What are you planning to do for transport when you first get out there? Do you have an idea of where you are looking to settle? Feel free to PM me and let us know how things are going.

 

regards

 

Sarah

[philkin]

Hi Phil

 

We're also about to make the move to Adelaide (myself, husband, Mark and 2 daughters age 10 and 6 and our Boston Terrier). We fly out on 5th April and like you we will both be actively looking for jobs; myself in HR/ Training and my husband in Transport/ Logistics (or anything he can turn his hand to!) It's certainly daunting....notices being handed in to work this week! We're heading out from Northants I'm glad to have got christmas out of the way so we can start to plan in earnest now. Got first months' accommodations booked in Semaphore and will need to focus on longer term rental. What are you planning to do for transport when you first get out there? Do you have an idea of where you are looking to settle? Feel free to PM me and let us know how things are going.

 

regards

 

Sarah

 

Hi Sarah,

 

Happy New Year,

 

That's really great we are heading out almost the same time and with the same things to get sorted out. Like you we are shipping our dogs out so its a trip to Melbourne and sorting out a car, short / long term rental, jobs, its just mind blowing. Also how much money will be needed to kick start etc, my wife Tracey has been looking at a few areas but really we don't have a clue yet and plan to play it by ear or the good people on the forum.

 

I drop you a PM,

 

All the best

Phil

[snifter]

Keep in mind that its the (state) school holidays from April 15 to May 2 in South Australia.

 

So if you haven't booked short term accommodation to start you off or are going to be arriving near then, schools will be closed between those dates and short term rentals may be hard to come by (and more expensive) if you've not booked already.

[philkin]

Keep in mind that its the (state) school holidays from April 15 to May 2 in South Australia.

 

So if you haven't booked short term accommodation to start you off or are going to be arriving near then, schools will be closed between those dates and short term rentals may be hard to come by (and more expensive) if you've not booked already.

 

Thanks Snifter, great advice.

[snifter]

Hi Phil

 

We're also about to make the move to Adelaide (myself, husband, Mark and 2 daughters age 10 and 6 and our Boston Terrier). We fly out on 5th April and like you we will both be actively looking for jobs; myself in HR/ Training and my husband in Transport/ Logistics (or anything he can turn his hand to!) It's certainly daunting....notices being handed in to work this week! We're heading out from Northants I'm glad to have got christmas out of the way so we can start to plan in earnest now. Got first months' accommodations booked in Semaphore and will need to focus on longer term rental. What are you planning to do for transport when you first get out there? Do you have an idea of where you are looking to settle? Feel free to PM me and let us know how things are going.

 

regards

 

Sarah

 

Semaphore is a nice area. Its quite far north though, just past Port Adelaide and can take a while to get to places in other directions if driving. A good 45 minutes to get going anywhere down south, ie, hitting Hallet Cove way. Into the city in rush hour can be busy also. Also the getting past the airport along Tapleys Hill road can be a pain and traffic can often be slow or back up there at any time of day.

 

I like Port Adelaide to visit (I work there one day a week, don't like the drive to get to it however and and we have friends there). Your kids will probably enjoy a dolphin boat tour from Port Adelaide for an hour or two. We've been multiple times now and always enjoy. We take a packed lunch on the boat rather than buy the greasy food.

 

Also you are not too far from St Kilda adventure playground for a morning/afternoon/day. Its about 30 mins drive from Semaphore. Its had a big revamp and is more up to date now.

 

Also places like Henley Beach have had a revamp and are always good to go visit and enjoy.

 

You also have West Lakes Westfield for mall shopping a suburb over in West Lakes.

 

Depending on where you will be working you may want to focus on that area for the longer term but if you are going to be working a distance away, you'd do well to look at other areas in whatever direction.

 

With a Boston I'd make sure any long term rental you take on has good working air con as come the summer the heat can be too much and snub nosed can really struggle even indoors on hot days if there is no air con or way to cool down or keep cool. A run of 40C plus days without air con is IMHO horrible (yes we did it the first summer and I swore never again). More so if the nights stay hot and don't drop below 30C (the hot run we had some nights it stayed about 35C!). Also when looking at areas to settle longer term check out the dog parks in the surrounding area to make sure you've got options for places to exercise him/her. There is always the beach of course (subject to by laws) and depending on the area some lovely walks and trails but the metropolitan Adelaide area its often dog parks or walking bike/footpaths along the storm drains and so on. Not the greatest in some areas thats for sure.

[NicF]

Semaphore is about as far north as Brighton is South (well about 1km further but near enough) and I can't see any particular reason why you would want to go to go anywhere south unless you were having a day out and 45 minutes isn't that much for a day trip anyway. No reason to go past the airport that often either, although getting in to the CBD could be a pain from there, but then getting in to the CBD can be a pain from anywhere. I do agree though that work location can make a difference to where you might want to live long term but really the only good place to be based to get to work anywhere is the CBD.

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Distance from the Adelaide CBD doesn't tell the whole story. Another important factor is the type / speed of roads that commuters will be using.

 

I live in Port Noarlunga which is 10km further from the CBD than Semaphore. However, my travel would take in 20 km of the southern expressway and the travel time for me into the city would be 3 or 4 minutes longer than someone travelling from Semaphore.

 

One way of looking at it is to draw a 7km circle around the Adelaide CBD. If I travel into the city it's free flowing at 100km/h until I get to Bedford Park (Flinders), and only then do I hit the traffic. It takes me 12 minutes to get from Port Noarlunga to the 7km ring and this 7km from the city is where I will sit in traffic. They are starting the Darlington upgrade and this will reduce my travel time by another 4 minutes when it's completed although it will be disruptive whilst the roadworks are happening.

As Nic F has said unless you live very close or in the CBD you will have traffic to contend with and discounting outlying suburbs due to travel considerations doesn't always take into account that the traffic congestion doesn't occur all the way into the city when travelling from the south...just when you reach the 7km ring.

[philkin]

Tamara how long does it normally take you to get into work on an average day if you don't mind me asking?

[snifter]

Semaphore is about as far north as Brighton is South (well about 1km further but near enough) and I can't see any particular reason why you would want to go to go anywhere south unless you were having a day out and 45 minutes isn't that much for a day trip anyway. No reason to go past the airport that often either, although getting in to the CBD could be a pain from there, but then getting in to the CBD can be a pain from anywhere. I do agree though that work location can make a difference to where you might want to live long term but really the only good place to be based to get to work anywhere is the CBD.

 

I was more thinking as a starting point if they were going to look further afield to live but didn't word it that well To get around to view other areas it would be a bit of a journey. If they want to settle there in the longer term it'd be fine as as you say, on a day to day basis life is local and you don't need to go that far afield. But it is also tucked up there in the corner and the other side of the lakes and Port and can be a trek to get to places, depending on where you are going. Same as going from south to north which is why people perhaps don't travel it that often.

 

I think also, having said that, we are often going further afield to do stuff, even the day to day like dog walking or just somewhere different after school one day (ie beach for a play/swim and tea out). Sure all the sports clubs/facilities, weekly shopping, school, doctors, vets etc is all within 10 minutes drive but for the rest we are often much further from home. We like a sushi place over in Norwood and combine that with something else like the baseball or a play park or cinema trip, head to the parklands for the BMX track and the Princess Elizabeth playpark, then dinner somewhere or take a picnic. Out over the hills for an afternoon to Hahndorf or Stirling, walk some trails or head to Mount Lofty or visit a farmers market. Belair for a long dog walk and the play area and fort for the kids. A beach when we want it. We recently started exploring Kuitpo forest for trails and new dog walks on weekends. Its been lovely and we have a list of trails and places to explore from there. A whole other world and hours of peace and quiet and less than 30 minutes drive. I guess as we did that in the UK we've carried it on here and like to get out and about and explore as much as possible. I felt pretty isolated and disconnected from things over in Glenelg after a while living there and while being on the tram and bike route into the CBD was great as was the beach so close, for everything else I felt pretty hemmed in by the metropolitan sprawl. I don't like living too far into a city or metropolitan area so our approach and location works for me but I appreciate others like to be right in it and don't mind city living at all and the appeal we find in these things isn't there for them.

[wozzie2202]

Hi and thanks for the advice. We don't plan on settling near Semaphore...more likely to be looking at north east Adelaide to be honest, but most short term rentals coming up we're along the coast and as we visited Semaphore before it seemed ideal to start off with, but I agree with the traffic thing. We did the dolphin tour last time as well which was great and you can get some deals on trips etc through groups I've noticed. Work will dictate where will will live but living close to the cbd is not for us. I would rather tolerate a commute but I think going south would be too far out. Good advice about air con..thankfully he has quite a pointy snout for snub nose and does well in the heat. (Not that we experience 40 degrees in uk). Arriving in April will hopefully all time to gradually adjust.

 

Thanks again

 

sarah

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Tamara how long does it normally take you to get into work on an average day if you don't mind me asking?

 

I don't work in the city and don't commute there. Having said that I do travel into the city quite often, plus to SA stadium, Entertainment centre, eateries, sport in the city etc etc.

There are two travel times...peak and off peak.

Port Noarlunga is 27 km from the CBD but we have the southern expressway that takes us to within 7 km of the Adelaide CBD. In off peak times I regularly travel to the city and it takes around 30 minutes... a couple of minutes shorter on an evening. Peak times are a whole different story. That 7 km ring of congestion adds to the travel time considerably.

I used to work at the Marion centre and the travel time for me was 15 to 17 minutes. I also used to go to Flinders hospital a couple of times a week and the travel time there was 14 to 15 minutes.

 

There are some great suburbs throughout Adelaide. There is a 2015 thread asking where people started out and where they live now which is interesting.

 

The southern coastal suburbs are much cheaper than coastal suburbs closer to the city and many guests who stay with me decide to settle around here.

Our rail link is also a factor. I have friends who stay in Flagstaff Hill. The southern suburbs line (the Seaford line) has been electrified and has new locos and carriages. For him to travel by train into the city he has to drive down to Brighton, which is a nightmare compared to when they lived around here and caught a limited stop (express train) into the city.

It's one thing to look on a map and think that 27 km is too far from the city for a daily commute but the roads that you will be using are a factor. You don't sit in gridlocked traffic for the entire trip. Same thing with the northern suburbs where you have a more extensive network of motorways, expressways and major roads...until you hit the city traffic!

If you have a look on google maps it's interesting to put in different starting points (suburbs) and the end point as being the Adelaide CBD.

It might make a good thread.

It will show that suburbs 10 km closer to the city than where I live have only a couple of minutes shorter travel time as they have "more congested" (it's not that bad) roads than the ones that I can travel on.

[snifter]

.....Our rail link is also a factor. I have friends who stay in Flagstaff Hill. The southern suburbs line (the Seaford line) has been electrified and has new locos and carriages. For him to travel by train into the city he has to drive down to Brighton, which is a nightmare compared to when they lived around here and caught a limited stop (express train) into the city.

 

If he is in Flaggy is it worth going to Coro or Blackwood for the train? Probably Coro is closer. Would probably have less traffic driving to them and its an easy journey into the city. We use that line and find it fine. Parking is limited around the stations directly but a couple of streets away is usually easy to find a park. We go in at rush hour sometimes, also later in the day and evenings.

 

Or even Hallet Cove for the train. Its a short hop over to Hallet Cove from Flagstaff way and not too bad traffic wise even in rush hour thanks to the lights at Main South Rd and across. We have used that line on occasion when going in with friends and meeting them on the train IYKWIM and its been easy. And we are further up and out and have to drive through Flagstaff to get across to Hallet Cove.

Edited January 4, 2016 by snifter
added a line