Were almost there...where do we live??

[Guest Andrew&Ren]

Hi All

 

We havent been on for a long while but the time has FINALLY come...

WE ARE COMING.....

 

Our visas are here and Andrew has a start date with his job (june), flights being booked next few weeks looking to arrive start of May! I cant tell you how excited we are. Now we have started to research areas to live and as Andrew has been told he is working in the north east area of the city, we have a few ideas and would really appreciate ANY info good or bad,transport links/distance to centre,social scene,traffic,crime etc etc in the following areas:

 

Modbury

Oakden

Highbury

and any surrounding subs

 

Any info/advice at all would be great !

 

Our plan is a short term let when we get there and a good look around the areas mentioned. I have read lots on here about renting in Adelaide and it seems you have to be quick!

 

Also does the local Adelaide press/newspaper advertise private lets?

 

Im sure we will have LOADS more to ask

 

A&R x

[Hayshake]

Congratulations,

Now the fun really starts.

I have recently managed to find a new rental by looking on the following websites, although some rentals are listed on each, some are only listed on one, so it's worth looking at them all.

The Advertiser newspaper also has a full page of rentals every Saturday but these seem to be the ones that everybody looks at.

As we are having such a hot spell here at the moment, I would reccomend finding a rental with reverse air air conditioning, as you will need the cooling in the Summer, and the warming in the Winter, when it can get quite cold at nights.

Can't help much about areas, as we live in the South.

http://www.realestateview.com.au

http://www.domain.com.au

wwwrealestate.com.au

[Diane]

All good areas - look also at Fairview Park, Dernancourt, Hope Valley, Tea Tree Gully, Vista, Banksia Park, Athelstone.

 

Oakden has a lot of new housing, Highbury has a combination of older, and stuff built in the last 10/15 years - prices vary a lot depending on which side of Lower North East Road you are on - Modbury is a little more built up, and possibly slightly older style housing (advantages of which are larger plots, but obviously perhaps places might need a bit of modernisation). There are some nice places around Salisbury Heights as well, some on large plots with great views. And take a drive round Golden Grove, see if that might be what ticks your boxes too. Make sure you take time to have a stroll along the Torrens Linear Park while you're in Highbury/Dernancourt/Athelstone. It's beautiful, even in the midst of a dry summer when the river is hardly flowing! Watch out for a mad woman walking her Border Collie and cat!!

 

Not a lot of "short term' lets in the area - you may find it worth looking at an apartment in the City somewhere (only about 15 mins from the suburbs you mentioned) as more choice there for short term furnished while you look around. Let me know if you want any links - there are some we know of near Burnside (in the East) which is a good base, or plenty in North Adelaide etc. (that's the suburb of North Adelaide as opposed to northern Adelaide)

 

Transport links great - good roads running into the City and East to West to the beaches, plus the O-Bahn (busses that run on tracks and roads) into the City (about 10 mins from Paradise, maybe 20 from Tea Tree Plaza).

 

Let us know when you are up to a few drinks and we'll organise the next North East girls night out.

 

Diane

[Guest Rob and Clare]

On the issue of Renting then it can be difficult by all accounts. Although I think we arrived in easier times we still had to pay 6 months rent in advance to secure the property we wanted. This was partly because we hadn't got jobs at the time and as home owners in the UK you don't have references either.

 

As to where to live really depends on what you want, some areas have huges plots of land with pools and home entertaining areas, places like modbury are the start of the O Bahn a fast bus service to the city (pretty much the only place for a livlier night out), golden grove is particularly nice looking and well manicured with a great shopping village, but i suppose as we live here I'd also say Mawson Lakes is worth a look. Only 10 mins to Modbury, 12 mins to semaphore beach, 10 mins by train to the city and a reasonable (for a suburb) cafe scene. We have a pub, 6 restuarants, take aways, beach volley ball, golf course, gym's, pattank, water polo, AFL, Soccer and we have no water restrictions so the parks are still green and it feels a great place to live, over the last month we've had a free outdoor cinema, rock n roll night, stage 1 of tour down with opening concert, australia day TV broadcast with Channel 9, and the australia polo championships all last weekend. So we love it here...

[Guest natdan]

Hi andrew and sharen, CONGRATULATIONS and GOOD LUCK on your journey.

We have only just returned from adelaide and the north eat area , we have friends who live in Modbury heights which is nice, but we really liked the look and feel of Golden grove and Greenwith , It has lovely houses / views and plenty of shops etc. and seemed a great place to live. Only 25 mins to thr beach / city and the adelaide hills.

WE to are from m/cr , just wondered what line of work you are in and if you had been to adelaide before .

Good luck again and enjoy.

 

Louise n Wayne

[Guest BAZnDAF]

Congratulations, can't advise on anything as we are still in the UK

 

Hope all goes well.

[thearmchairdetective]

Congratulations, Adelaide is lovely.

[Guest taffs]

Hi, Congratulations to you both, bet you are so excited. Have you tried http://www.adelaidebound.com there is so much information on there

 

Good luck

Jason

[Guest Andrew&Ren]

Thanks all for info/help!!

 

How does the north east area compare with other areas crime wise??

Is it classed as a "posh" area, a "rough" area???

[Diane]

Definitely on the posher side - but hey, I'm biased! Houses are generally well kept and looked after, public areas clean and tidy, very little graffiti (certainly compared to other areas I've seen) and good schools. Generally amongst long term Adeladians the East side is considered the "poshest" and when I said to someone at a party the other day about how many Brits are put off the suburbs round here because someone may have told them "the north is rough" this local looked quite shocked and said "we're not in the North, we're the North East!" And even so, I'd say there are only one or two suburbs in the real "North" that perhaps I'd steer clear of!

 

Have a look on www.realestate.com.au and do a "whole of Adelaide" search for the cheapest housing, then bear in mind that if a particular suburb is particularly cheap, there is probably a reason for it! This goes for ALL suburbs, north south east and west, and everything in between!

 

D

[Guest Rob and Clare]

Have a look at http://www.abelrealty.com.au/_excel/LGAFrames2007_08.htm for all the average house prices by suburb.

 

Generally the best suburbs have the most expensive prices, the very best are all close to the CBD just to the north, east or south of the city.

 

For the outer suburbs then the NE is probably the poshest, that said when you drive around you don't always get a feeling of an area being posh or not (across the city), houses aren't always grand in posh areas and the rougher areas are not like council ghetto's.

[Diane]

Actually I'm not sure "posh" is even a concept I understand in relation to Adelaide - although I guess somewhere like Unley or Toorak Gardens might come close! I reckon the North East is nice and average, not a lot of hoon activity, a good mix of old and new housing styles, and a good mix of new migrants and "born and bred" aussies - but even the highest earners sometimes live in the most average houses, nothing flashy, and it's really not a big aussie thing, to "keep up with the Jones's" - not in my experience anyway - some of our neighbours and people we've met are probably much "posher" than an Essex girl like me but I've not come across any overt snobbism - they still talk to me and let their children play with my urchins!

[Guest Andrew&Ren]

Thanks for info....

the area sounds what we would want...not too "posh"...not to "rough"!

what is posh and rough anyway i guess...lol!!

[Guest lastboyscout]

The N.East area has gone right down the nick since last June

 

Nah, seriously it is a lovely place to live but the majority of the houses are 3 bedroomed `proper` houses, and you might need to look for a unit or apartment

 

 

and the beers in the fridge !!!!!!

[ShaunWilson]

We have friends that live in Golden grove, and also maybe worth looking at Mawson lakes? New houses thier, and some of them are bought by people just for the rental markets. Otherwise just keep checking realestate.com.au as they update twice a week i believe.