Where would you like to live?

[Guest GAFFBAM]

:unsure:Where would you live if you had the opportunity? What would be your ideal location to live in? A place that could offer a little of everything, including great schools for 2 girls who are 10 and 12. Easy access to great outdoor living, the beaches, the hills, CBD and all the great living that Adelaide has to offer.

 

We are a family of 4 who have already been granted our visas. We are arriving in Adelaide on Nov 5th for 2 weeks on a fact finding mission. We will be staying in Glenelg I have 'no idea' where we would like to live. The leafy tree lined streets of Adelaide sound wonderful but so do the Hills. Sadly we haven't sold none any property so we will have to rent and see what comes of it. We have had to change tact as the 'orginal' dream has had to be shelved but 'hey' who said that life was easy. At least we have the opportunity to sample the lifestyle.

 

My husband is a carpenter and my background is Banking but I want to do somethng different after having a career break.

 

Thankyou!

[Guest Rob and Clare]

:unsure:Where would you live if you had the opportunity? What would be your ideal location to live in? A place that could offer a little of everything, including great schools for 2 girls who are 10 and 12. Easy access to great outdoor living, the beaches, the hills, CBD and all the great living that Adelaide has to offer.

 

We are a family of 4 who have already been granted our visas. We are arriving in Adelaide on Nov 5th for 2 weeks on a fact finding mission. We will be staying in Glenelg I have 'no idea' where we would like to live. The leafy tree lined streets of Adelaide sound wonderful but so do the Hills. Sadly we haven't sold none any property so we will have to rent and see what comes of it. We have had to change tact as the 'orginal' dream has had to be shelved but 'hey' who said that life was easy. At least we have the opportunity to sample the lifestyle.

 

My husband is a carpenter and my background is Banking but I want to do somethng different after having a career break.

 

Thankyou!

The best places are just to the east, North and south of the city, more than 10 mins from the city and it can become a bit "my name is earl" territory...

 

but saying that, it's hard to find a really rough area, i would just say look at the street and neighbours, it's easy to wind up living next to some V8 rev head or worse in any area.....

[Guest RichardandYvonne]

Hi... Your situation is similar to ours but we are not doing a visit... We will be very interested in sharing your experience as our children are of the same age (but boys!)... My research is from chatting (a bit like this) and the net...

 

Good luck!

Richard & Yvonne

[Guest moonraker1959]

Hard to find a rough area?Are you kidding?I lived in S.A for 30 years and I could name several!!!

[Guest Tiddlypush]

Hard to find a rough area?Are you kidding?I lived in S.A for 30 years and I could name several!!!

 

 

go on then:wubclub:

[ozzieclare2be]

Hard to find a rough area?Are you kidding?I lived in S.A for 30 years and I could name several!!!

 

Yeah but SA rough and manchester rough arent quite the same thing:biglaugh:

[ozzieclare2be]

The best places are just to the east, North and south of the city, more than 10 mins from the city and it can become a bit "my name is earl" territory...

 

but saying that, it's hard to find a really rough area, i would just say look at the street and neighbours, it's easy to wind up living next to some V8 rev head or worse in any area.....

 

whats my name is earl territory??

[Rachiegarlo]

hmmm 10 mins from the city going north woukd get you to Prospect, Sefton park, basically those below Regency Rd. Going East you'd on a good day get as far out as payneham, Burnside, Linden Park, basically those suburbs fringing Portrush Rd. Going South, you could getas far as Myrtle Bank, Parkside, Unley, fullarton, Clarence gdns so any suburb fringing on Cross Rd. To the west, the much forgotten part of Adelaide you could be in Lockleys, Findon, Mile End, Richmond, marleston. On a good day you could get as far as any suburb on marion Rd,to where it meets Cross Rd and certainly South Rd. In light traffic you can be out at the airportin 10 mins.

 

There are loads of suburbs and if you have a drive around you will find each area has a differnt aspect and it just depends what suits you and yours.

 

Areas sometimes ignored by prospective migrants, but are great places are Semaphore, North Haven and neighbouring suburbs, there are some great streets in lockleys and other suburbs in that area.

[Guest natdan]

Yeah but SA rough and manchester rough arent quite the same thing:biglaugh:

NO wonder i cant sell my house !!! , sorry i forgot we live in leafy Cheshire. Yeah right !!. I would also like to know of the rougher areas in Adelaide also .

 

Wayne n Louise.

[bill]

The best places are just to the east, North and south of the city, more than 10 mins from the city and it can become a bit "my name is earl" territory...

but saying that, it's hard to find a really rough area, i would just say look at the street and neighbours, it's easy to wind up living next to some V8 rev head or worse in any area.....

 

Wow, that's a bold statement to make! I agree that there are places to avoid - I have lived in those streets containing revheads, and wouldn't ever want to repeat it - but to tar anywhere more than 10 minutes from the city with the same brush is a little unfair. I have lived in Hallett Cove, Seacliff and Semaphore, all of which are considerably outside your specified boundaries, and have usually been blessed with quiet, considerate neighbours. In fact, most of my neighbour issues concern dogs barking - grrrrr!!!!!

As for where to live, my advice is to look at what you want from Adelaide. Personally, I want to be walking distance to a good swimming beach and the train, plus not too far from my daughter in Port Noarlunga so Seacliff is my choice, but Semaphore, Brighton, Grange and a host of other seaside suburbs would suit too. If you want to be near to the city, so be it. If you want to be in the Hills, so be it. The important thing is to know your priorities, then ask this forum for advice.

As for places to avoid - if it's cheap, there's a good reason for that. That could be based on distance to city, beach, services or ... think about it! I moved to Parafield Gardens when I arrived in 1989, and hated it for the revhead prevalence. Hallett Cove was generally great, but for my first few years there, I lived next door to noisy dogs, which was a nightmare. However, I did eventually find a lovely quiet area with great neighbours. Plus Hallett Cove is affordable with fantastic sea views around every corner. Shame about the rocky beach though! I have heard negative things about Christie Downs and Hackham in the South, Elizabeth in the North, and a few other places, but it's all hearsay and subjective, and I would hate to offend anybody who lives in those places!

I would suggest that before your visit, you decide what those priorities are, consult this forum and take a good look at the suburbs which make it onto your shortlist. Then you'll be well informed about your options.

Good luck and I hope you find the suburb that suits you. November is just getting into beach weather - look out for 2 middle-aged teenagers cavorting on Seacliff Beach at weekends - that will be myself and my darling wife Cazzie!

[Guest graandjac]

:)The million dollar question this one , i guess it also comes down to what you can afford the nearer the city ...prices go up but that dosent mean that the further away you live the worst they get..... Our block is on the outside of the point development, looking down the river out to see, close to Port Noarlunga ....which i doubt ANYONE would argue has one of the best family beaches in SA( that will start an arguement lol).

Close to Collinades shopping centre, close to the beach, close to lots of schools,close to the fanstic countryside, and we spend hours in the Onkaparinga River Reserve.....fantastic.....:daydreaming:but its Noarlunga Downs and close to the ment to be very bad Hackham.....so what , Hollys new best friend lives in the centre of Hackham and her and her family are all lovely people, although when you arrive its all new it dosent take long to warm to an area. Dont put to much pressure on "having to find the right area" , its the start of a long journey so enjoy the looking around.

 

Cheers Graham

[Guest TC for short]

I live in Coromandel Valley, very near the Weinstadl restaurant. It's a lovely leafy area with koalas in the trees & hills that remind me of North Dorset, yet is only 30-40 mins from the city centre. Good primary school within walking distance but no shops or pub. I allow 45 mins to get to work at the airport (near Harbour Town, not the terminal) but it often takes me less.

Didn't set out to choose this area though - we had 3wks from arriving in Adelaide to find a house to rent, and NOTE - 4 bedroom rentals are hard to find!

[ozzieclare2be]

:)The million dollar question this one , i guess it also comes down to what you can afford the nearer the city ...prices go up but that dosent mean that the further away you live the worst they get..... Our block is on the outside of the point development, looking down the river out to see, close to Port Noarlunga ....which i doubt ANYONE would argue has one of the best family beaches in SA( that will start an arguement lol).

Close to Collinades shopping centre, close to the beach, close to lots of schools,close to the fanstic countryside, and we spend hours in the Onkaparinga River Reserve.....fantastic.....:daydreaming:but its Noarlunga Downs and close to the ment to be very bad Hackham.....so what , Hollys new best friend lives in the centre of Hackham and her and her family are all lovely people, although when you arrive its all new it dosent take long to warm to an area. Dont put to much pressure on "having to find the right area" , its the start of a long journey so enjoy the looking around.

 

Cheers Graham

 

totally agree we are building there too xx:)

[Diane]

Well Highbury is fantastic - 20 minutes to the City, 30 minutes to the Beaches, 30 minutes to the Barossa and we have the msot magnificent Linear Park on our doorstep! But then I'm biased....

 

With a 12 year old, you are going to be looking at High Schools in the near future, so my advice would be start off renting somewhere fairly central short term. Visit several high schools (if your daughter has any particular skills/talents/hobbies, consider a high school with a specialism such as music or sport or performing arts) - when you find one you like and she likes, ask the school for a map of their catchment area, then look for a rental in that area. The most sought after schools ask you to show a rental contract of at least a year within catchment, plus a utility bill, so you could make that a good starting point. Also, consider where the main wage earner in the family will be working and use that perhaps as a guidance on whether to look closer in to the City, or further out (for instance, if you are going to be working mostly north of the city, you may like to check commuting distances from somewhere a long way south, and vice versa)

 

Even if you were working in the roughest of rough areas though, you can still find a good suburb to live in within 20-30 minutes drive usually.

 

Diane

[Guest guest569]

This is really tough as what might tick all your boxes now might not suit you all 1 yr on into your new lives. We have found that we have all changed so much since being here in oz. My advise to everyone would be to rent for 12 months to see what evolves in your new lives.

[Guest GAFFBAM]

This is really tough as what might tick all your boxes now might not suit you all 1 yr on into your new lives. We have found that we have all changed so much since being here in oz. My advise to everyone would be to rent for 12 months to see what evolves in your new lives.

Wow...........Thank you all so much for your responses, what are 'revheads', it conjures up images of wild bikers????? I know it was a really hard question to start with but I just wanted to see if any area came up again and again. With my husband being a carpenter I am assuming he will be working pretty much all over the place. My 2 girls currently have a 40 minute drive to school on the bus and this is something i want to avoid and will probably be at the top of all of our list. We live in the beautiful Isle of Wight in a town called Ventnor on the coast. My 12 year old daughter surfs but would love to surf in wamer waters!!!!! She is pretty much just starting out. My 10 year old has great potential for sport but as I'm sure a lot of people out there know, Sport isn't on the top of any schools agenda here, well not theirs anyway. So really the girls will be our main priority which brings me to schools. I believe my 12 year old will be moving to Hgh School. In your experiences do they keep children back a year there? She is very bright (I know we all love to think that) but she is and sciences are her best subjects. They have always been in Catholic education but I'm not too worried as long as they don't have a long journey to deal with. Thanks again all for your great replies.

 

Regards

[Guest SA Great]

Wow, that's a bold statement to make! I agree that there are places to avoid - I have lived in those streets containing revheads, and wouldn't ever want to repeat it - but to tar anywhere more than 10 minutes from the city with the same brush is a little unfair. I have lived in Hallett Cove, Seacliff and Semaphore, all of which are considerably outside your specified boundaries, and have usually been blessed with quiet, considerate neighbours. In fact, most of my neighbour issues concern dogs barking - grrrrr!!!!!

As for where to live, my advice is to look at what you want from Adelaide. Personally, I want to be walking distance to a good swimming beach and the train, plus not too far from my daughter in Port Noarlunga so Seacliff is my choice, but Semaphore, Brighton, Grange and a host of other seaside suburbs would suit too. If you want to be near to the city, so be it. If you want to be in the Hills, so be it. The important thing is to know your priorities, then ask this forum for advice.

As for places to avoid - if it's cheap, there's a good reason for that. That could be based on distance to city, beach, services or ... think about it! I moved to Parafield Gardens when I arrived in 1989, and hated it for the revhead prevalence. Hallett Cove was generally great, but for my first few years there, I lived next door to noisy dogs, which was a nightmare. However, I did eventually find a lovely quiet area with great neighbours. Plus Hallett Cove is affordable with fantastic sea views around every corner. Shame about the rocky beach though! I have heard negative things about Christie Downs and Hackham in the South, Elizabeth in the North, and a few other places, but it's all hearsay and subjective, and I would hate to offend anybody who lives in those places!

I would suggest that before your visit, you decide what those priorities are, consult this forum and take a good look at the suburbs which make it onto your shortlist. Then you'll be well informed about your options.

Good luck and I hope you find the suburb that suits you. November is just getting into beach weather - look out for 2 middle-aged teenagers cavorting on Seacliff Beach at weekends - that will be myself and my darling wife Cazzie!

Good post Bill!! Areas generally regarded as ones to avoid in the south are Christies Beach, Hackham, Morphett Vale and parts of Noarlunga. Having said that, there are parts of all of these suburbs that are really nice!! In the North probably Elizabeth, Smithfield, Munno Para, Parafield Gardens and Paralowie. The eastern side of the railway line past Port Adelaide i.e Ottoway, Exeter etc are also generally considered rough. Money no object I think I would pick the suburb of Skye or Auldana. Also Burnside. On the beach at Glenelg or Henley would be good and one of my faves is Marino Rocks. Also Coromandel Valley is really nice and Flagstaff Hill (but then I'm bound to say that because I live there!!) tee hee hee!! Seriously though there are so many nice places to live and everyone has a different opinion of what is good. A lot of new poms tend to move south probably because of the beaches. I have to agree with you Bill about barking dogs. I think the aussies tend to be different to the poms regarding dogs. Aussies tend to go for guard dog types (rotties, staffies etc) who live in the backyard ( hence bark bark) whereas poms tend to go for a labrador type dogs who live indoors, hence (no barking!) Anyway thats my opinion but it can be very bloody annoying!!

[suziewozie]

Good post Bill!! Areas generally regarded as ones to avoid in the south are Christies Beach, Hackham, Morphett Vale and parts of Noarlunga. Having said that, there are parts of all of these suburbs that are really nice!! In the North probably Elizabeth, Smithfield, Munno Para, Parafield Gardens and Paralowie. The eastern side of the railway line past Port Adelaide i.e Ottoway, Exeter etc are also generally considered rough. Money no object I think I would pick the suburb of Skye or Auldana. Also Burnside. On the beach at Glenelg or Henley would be good and one of my faves is Marino Rocks. Also Coromandel Valley is really nice and Flagstaff Hill (but then I'm bound to say that because I live there!!) tee hee hee!! Seriously though there are so many nice places to live and everyone has a different opinion of what is good. A lot of new poms tend to move south probably because of the beaches. I have to agree with you Bill about barking dogs. I think the aussies tend to be different to the poms regarding dogs. Aussies tend to go for guard dog types (rotties, staffies etc) who live in the backyard ( hence bark bark) whereas poms tend to go for a labrador type dogs who live indoors, hence (no barking!) Anyway thats my opinion but it can be very bloody annoying!!

 

 

I too have agree with the noisy dogs barking allday. Next door we had two little dogs that barked, whined allday from 7.30am till 6pm, 6 days a week. Poor things , they were so lonely. Why do they have them, then go out to work all the time and they never seem to take them for walks either.

[bill]

Wow...........Thank you all so much for your responses, what are 'revheads', it conjures up images of wild bikers????? I know it was a really hard question to start with but I just wanted to see if any area came up again and again. With my husband being a carpenter I am assuming he will be working pretty much all over the place. My 2 girls currently have a 40 minute drive to school on the bus and this is something i want to avoid and will probably be at the top of all of our list. We live in the beautiful Isle of Wight in a town called Ventnor on the coast. My 12 year old daughter surfs but would love to surf in wamer waters!!!!! She is pretty much just starting out. My 10 year old has great potential for sport but as I'm sure a lot of people out there know, Sport isn't on the top of any schools agenda here, well not theirs anyway. So really the girls will be our main priority which brings me to schools. I believe my 12 year old will be moving to Hgh School. In your experiences do they keep children back a year there? She is very bright (I know we all love to think that) but she is and sciences are her best subjects. They have always been in Catholic education but I'm not too worried as long as they don't have a long journey to deal with. Thanks again all for your great replies.

 

Regards

 

 

A revhead is someone with a big, noisy car who isn't too considerate about revving it up noisily at all hours. Now then, warmer waters! For real surfing in SA, you head to the Southern Ocean (only an hour from the Southern suburbs), and this is the same Southern Ocean that goes all the way to Antarctica, with no land in between. I wonder how much warmer it will be than the IOW? If you want WARM water and great surfing, head for Queensland. Adelaide's St. Vincent's Gulf waters are very calm - your daughter won't be surfing there, for sure! From Hallett Cove southwards, you can surf when the weather is reasonably wild (Christie's Beach, Port Noarlunga, Moana and more) but it's smaller surf than the ocean. Serious surfers head down to Waitpinga, Boomers and Middleton (the safest one for kids). Wet suits are a must for surfers in SA waters, particularly in winter.

You mention Catholic education and sports. Sacred Heart School at Somerton Park is Catholic, and has a very good sporting reputation. This is the Senior School, from years 10 to 12 I think, and is co-ed. For years 8 and 9, they have a girls-only school, Sacred heart Middle School, nearby at Hove. My daughter went to both, and I was impressed. Though we aren't catholic, we were very impressed with the Christian morality and ethic, and weren't disappointed. They are self-funded in a semi-private kind of way, and will cost you about $4000 p.a. per child, though you get a discount on the 2nd and subsequent child. Another thing about Catholic and private schools is that they do have programmes to push gifted children. I'm sure that there are other similar schools, but that's the one I know about.

Cheers,

Bill

PS There ARE actually places, such as Wingfield, where you would get to live next door to wild bikers, who live in walled compounds to keep the police out, but maybe the $75000 price tag would warn you off such areas!

[Guest Rob and Clare]

whats my name is earl territory??

Ha Ha....

 

All i mean is the further away from the city you are, then generally you will see a few more people with long goaty beards (ZZ top style), pyjama's being worn by shoppers in the supermarket, barefoot, and men with old noisy V8 Ute's that still think it's better to have the noise than drive a Focus or Astra that can drive from A to B without breaking down... These aren't unique to the outer suburbs, but you can just see a few more.

 

These aren't bad things and compared to the UK pretty harmless, but you should still expect to see it...

[Guest ben.karen]

Being still in England we are having the same thoughts. Have you tried the South Australian statistics website for information on crime rates, housing stock and stuff like that? It features the various councils in Adelaide and the statistics for each of them. They is also a where to live guide on Adelaide which you can buy from Amazon - although largely promotional by the SA government it does give you an overview of the area and who lives there and the average price for a house/rental in each suburb - a good indicator of the affluence of the area! It does have some nice photos too!

[Guest GAFFBAM]

Ha Ha thanks for that. I actually live in 'My name is Earl territory'. I live in Ventnor on the Isle of Wight. Beautiful but very different to what I've been used to. I come from London but we moved here 6 years ago for a 'safer' environment' for our children and it has been. Very few opportunities though and they are getting to an age where we want them to experience a little more than Ventnor has to offer. Time to move on.......

 

Regards

 

Angela

[Guest GAFFBAM]

Blimey.....I shop in my PJ's sometimes,I told you I live in M N Is Earl T. Time to get out.......Ha Ha!!

[Guest Rob and Clare]

Blimey.....I shop in my PJ's sometimes,I told you I live in M N Is Earl T. Time to get out.......Ha Ha!!

well it means your ready for bed when you get back, so it's practical... ha ha .....