Where to live?

[Naomi]

My husband and I are moving to Adelaide from U.K. next week and wours be grateful for some advice regarding where to live? 

 

We we are both in our early 30s and will be working as ICU registrars in a couple of hospitals in the centre of Adelaide. 

 

We we are looking for a 2 bed property in a nice area. Ideally we would like an easy commute to our work e.g. Walking distance, 30 mins cycle, easy bus ride. We would also like to be close to bars/restaurants/shops.

 

We like the sound of North Adelaide/Glenelg/Norwood and the city centre itself. Any advice would be very much appreciated as we won't have that much time to house hunt once the jobs start! 

[Jessica Berry]

Welcome to the forum.

Have you read through the thread below?  This will give you some ideas.....

 

[NicF]

North Adelaide or Norwood would be ideal.  Glenelg is a little further, and certainly not walking distance, but I would imagine would be pretty quick on the tram.  Have a look on the Adelaide metro site for actual timetables to get a sense of just how long it would take.  To get an idea of properties have a look on the realestate.com.au site for rentals.  As always I would recommend getting a holiday let for the first two or three weeks and having a look round the different areas for yourself.  There is no substitute for visiting an area in person and seeing what it is like for yourself.

[llessur]

What sort of place are you looking for? A house or apartment?

[snifter]

Any of those would be good IMHO.

Glenelg is a tram or bike ride (cycle path most of the way and flat, used to enjoy that bike ride into the city from Glenelg). Tram is about 35 minutes to the CBD, bit more to say West Tce and the new RAH though. It would give you beach city suburb living and plenty of apartments and so on to choose from to start you off, many not far from Jetty Rd and the beach itself so pretty central in the suburb. 

North Adelaide. Pricey and rather swanky. Has lots of cafes, eateries etc in its two main areas but unless you live close by they are not walking distance in the hot months. It would be a hop in the car to keep cool type thing. Easy to get into the CBD from there for your work. Bike ride, bus, walk if close enough in cooler months. 

Norwood. Lovely suburb. Bus or bike ride into the CBD. Again, to experience the main street, it could be a car ride from house to parking to make use of the facilities. 

Of the 3, for me I'd say Glenelg, but only if it were close enough for work. Its about a 45 minute bike ride into the RAH from Glenelg iirc for example. Its also a bit cheaper and more laid back feeling than North Adelaide. I shop in North Adelaide sometimes (I work there) and the supermarket prices are noticeably more expensive than other suburbs I shop in. If I did my weekly shop there I could add on about $10-20 more over a weekly shop in other not so full on swanky suburbs  

I like Norwood lots too (has my favourite sushi place there!). And honestly, North Adelaide is lovely but pricey and a bit stuffy for my liking. And as someone said elsewhere, depending on whereabouts you are in it it can be right under the flight path of planes coming in to land or take off. Noisy as some days, I can attest to that  

Tram timetable for you https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/content/download/667/56994/file/Glenelg-Tram_ttable_routemap_26-01-16.pdf

The CBD itself, I'd perhaps consider it once you know the city and have been here a while to get your bearings. More so as some parts are better than others to rent in and you'd perhaps want to check round first and make sure its a decent area. When I first met my husband he used to live a couple of streets from the Central Market and it was fab. Chinatown on our doorstep pretty much. Plus parklands not far away and could be on King William or Rundle Mall and elsewhere within 5-10 minutes. Plus on the tram heading to Glenelg was a few minutes away in Vic Sq. Having a car wasn't ideal as often could not get a park near his house and it could be a walk right down the street but that was the only real downside. Oh and sometimes noisy neighbours as the houses were the older style, single storey, small (long) and all joined with small back yards. It was lovely for the two of us for a while but longer term we appreciated more space and a bit more privacy etc. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Naomi]

Thank you - That's really helpful. We have an air bnb booked for 2 weeks when we first arrive, and then hope to quickly get a feel of the city as we start viewing longer term rentals. Glenelg is definitely going up in my estimation, especially if it's so easy to get into the city! 

[snifter]

1 hour ago, Naomi said:

Thank you - That's really helpful. We have an air bnb booked for 2 weeks when we first arrive, and then hope to quickly get a feel of the city as we start viewing longer term rentals. Glenelg is definitely going up in my estimation, especially if it's so easy to get into the city! 

We lived in Glenelg for the first 7 months or so after we arrived. Only a few minutes walk to the tram and Jetty Rd from where we were living, was lovely. We could go down the beach in the summer of an evening for a swim and walk home and be dry by the time we got back! Plus having the social scene there, cafes, bars, eateries etc in and around Jetty rd and Moseley Sq are plentiful to choose from. Also has good options for grocery shopping (and lots of other stores, clothing, gift, books, sports shops etc) and I did like being within walking distance and able to shop on foot rather than it being a drive in the car each time. Of course, you live too far out in the suburb you'll be driving or cycling in most likely but there are plenty of options rental wise within walking distance of it all. 

You've also got Westfield Marion about 5-10 minutes drive away in the car if you want a huge shopping mall. Also has the aquatic centre there, cinema, bowling and more. 

For us after about 3-4 months it did wear on us in some ways as we had a young child and I wanted to be further out in a more country feeling area so when we came to buying we looked elsewhere. I love the hills, gum trees and wildlife and so Glenelg was never going to tick those boxes in the long term. Nor would any of those city coastal/beach suburbs for that reason. But I do like Glenelg and it has lots of things that make it appealing. One of the biggest draws of it for me is the tram line (I much prefer trams over trains and buses) and the ease of them, plus the bike path into the city. 

[Rammygirl]

We lived in Norwood for three years.  Walked to the Parade ( where the restaurants and shops are) and my Hubble walked to work in the CBD. Not bad for rentals but pricey to buy!  

 Which hospitals were you thinking of?  Wakefield would certainly be walkable from  most parts of Norwood.

North Adelaide is nice too but you do get a lot of aircraft noise.

 

[Naomi]

Thank you all! Have just moved into a lovely apartment! It's starting to feel like home! 

[llessur]

Awesome, where did you end up? Enjoy the new pad!

[snifter]

Great to hear. Curious also to know whereabouts you've started off your life in Adelaide? 

Hope you are enjoying the city

[Naomi]

We ended up in the CBD- 10 mins walk to work! 

[snifter]

Not a bad part of the CBD to be living on  

Depending on which end its not far to walk for the Central market, tram and other things.

Hopefully the traffic noise isn't too bad. Being a bit higher up should hopefully help

 Be aware the Adelaide 500 car race weekend will be coming up in a few months and even though the track doesn't run near you, the noise from the cars can be heard for miles. Its crazy loud. Its only a few days and thankfully you'll have minimal disruption in terms of getting around as its not coming past your door. 

 

[Naomi]

Thanks- it's quiet so far- especially compared to North Adelaide. We were woken at 5am every day with the planes! It's on South Terrace between pulteney and hutt. The commute is excellent and really swung it for us in the end. We have lovely views looking out to the parklands and Adelaide hills... although they are making me want to get out of the city to explore it all!

[llessur]

Welcome to Adelaide, it's a lovely city. The new place looks great and am very jealous of that view!

Best of luck in the new jobs too!

[snifter]

Yeah North Adelaide can be annoying in some areas because of the planes. I tend not to notice them too much now when I am at work but can imagine at night or very early morning if you are under the flight path they can take some getting used to. 

South Tce is lovely and you shouldn't have any problems around there. Also being in an apartment higher up makes a difference to being in a house on a street with backyards and neighbours each side. 

You are near the Hemeji gardens and iirc a lovely bit of the parklands with a huge wisteria that in spring is stunning to wander through. Near a little creek and glasshouse I seem to recall from our days in the neighbourhood. Ooo and the Havelock pub isn't far away either. 

You'll be able to explore the city so well where you are. As a starting home for you here it seems pretty spot on. You've plenty of time to get your bearings and see the rest