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Life in the scenic South...Port Noarlunga


Tamara HDU

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Hi there,

I was speaking to a South African the other week...he works at the local Ford dealership in Christies Beach. He mentioned that he has ping ponged because they didn't settle the first time.

He now stays in the South and is really happy with life and he expressed the opinion that he wished that he had started out here from the beginning.

I don't want to get into a North / South divide debate but I did notice that there are places that are pinned...but no rating for the suburbs this side of the world.

We arrived 5 years ago and I doubt that we would have settled if we hadn't started off our new life in Port Noarlunga. Probably would have left and gone to Perth! Over 90% of people who rent one of my rental properties decide to stay within 5km...that's over 200 families so far so that's a substantial vote of confidence.

I welcome any comments from people who live in Adelaide...good or bad...to rate Port Noarlunga as a great place to start out and settle into a new life and I hope that it generates debate and that the thread gets pinned.

Anyway:

Port Noarlunga....EVERYTHING ON YOUR DOORSTEP!!!

This suburb has everything and everywhere can be reached by walking. I do not know of any other suburb that has so much right on it's doorstep.

There'a a transport interchange at the large Noarlunga shopping centre. An express train to town takes 27 minutes. The southern expressway can be reached within a few minutes and this reduces the travel time into the city.

Beaches: It's a seaside suburb with the most stunning sandy beach, jetty and reef-protected swimming. Angler’s fish from the jetty and children and divers share the sea! You can walk there or reach them within a few minutes by car. The nearby Christies beach is dog friendly and your pets can run free in the sand and surf every day.

Port Noarlunga / Port Noarlunga South won the 2010 award for Australia's cleanest beach. Over $8 million is being spent on new beachfront facilities.

Shopping: Too much to list! The Noarlunga centre is within walking distance and is 2 minutes by car.

Beach Road in Christies Beach has Coles and Woolworths and many eateries and fast food outlets. The supermarkets are open from 6 till 9 and you don't even need a car. There are liquor stores and drive in liquor stores. There are 24 hour petrol stations, convenience stores and fast food outlets..

The village of Port Noarlunga has character. There are fish and chip shops, a post office, restaurants, vets, dive hire etc. There is a children’s fort and play area just across the Onkaparinga estuary and this has barbie and picnic facilities.

Schools: There are child care and kindy facilities in Port Noarlunga, Noarlunga centre and Christies Beach.

The Port Noarlunga primary school is very popular (my own grandson will be going there!) and this school is being expanded and refurbished with $4 million due to the growing demand.

There is a Catholic primary school (St Johns) in nearby O Sullivan’s and a primary school in beach road Christies Beach.

High schools and technical colleges include the Catholic Cardijn College, Christies High, and Marcellin technical.

The Noarlunga TAFE is just a few minutes away and this offers so many courses for teenagers and adults. It's next door to the modern public library.

Housing: Prices in the range of $350,000 up to million dollar properties for beachfront homes. The area is undergoing massive transformation with many 1960's homes being renovated or replaced with modern units. There is a large expat population and the adjoining suburb of Christies beach is where 25% of the residents were born ioverseas! Prices are rising in this suburb and many properties are being converted into holiday accommodation.

For more info and a suburb rating for Port Noarlunga have a look at:

http://localvoices.realestate.com.au/port-noarlunga-onkaparinga-adelaide-greater-south-australia

It also seems to be a pretty good investment area. Port Noarlunga and Christies Beach were named as being in the top 5 suburbs for property investment.

Entertainment: The nearby (walkable!) Noarlunga entertainment precinct has a cinema complex, bowling, ice skating, large indoor pool and sports facility, and laser quest. A new gym has just opened.

There is the floodlit footy sports oval in Noarlunga and the footy and cricket oval in Christies. There are bowling clubs in Christies and Port Noarlunga, tennis courts, canoeing on the Onkaparinga river, There are hotels, restaurants, and pubs in the Port Noarlunga village. There are Indian, Chinese, pasta eateries and pub food all on your doorstep.

Other facilities: There are local doctors, the Noarlunga hospital and the newly completed super clinic at the health village. There are surf lifesaving associations, launch sites on the beaches and local dive facilities. There are great fishing spots on the river, from the jetty or from boats launched from O Sullivan’s beach. The water is calm and protected and kids can swim, surf and body board in safety. There are loads of parks and playgrounds, tennis courts and sport facilities. The infrastructure is good with high speed Internet from many service providers.

I live in Port Noarlunga myself!

I look out on the stunning estuary and sea every day and am thankful for being able to live in such a stunning location. I have the McLarenvale wine region just a few km away.

I bought my Port Noarlunga house 5 years ago after being in Oz for 3 weeks! I have just bought another home in Port Noarlunga and my daughter lives in Port Noarlunga! My teenage son works at the local Noarlunga centre and my other teenage son is attending the local Noarlunga TAFE. I walk (run!) my energetic boxer (Dutchess) on the beach nearly every day. I take my grandchildren to the beach, the local pool, the shops, the parks....my entire world is on my doorstep.

It's safe to walk the streets and I don't worry about crime. The people are really friendly and my decision to live here was totally the right decision for me and for my family. Many of the guests who stay at my properties decide to rent in the area when they leave my homes.

I honestly wouldn't want to live anywhere else in Adelaide than in Port Noarlunga.

Tamara

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Funny enough this is the first place we want to rent in when we get to Adelaide.

We found ourselves warming to this place over all the other suburbs. We have heard good reviews and

after looking at all the houses to rent our heart always takes us back to Port Noarlunga.

Thank you for this post, hopefully we can find a place there as we will be heart broken if we can't.

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Can't wait till we stay with you guys in December. I've had a good look around at places on "google" but it's not the same as living there. I do have my heart set on Linden Park primary and Glenunga high for the kids, BUT looking at the areas around there is just no way we can do rentals of over A$600 a week and the to buy is also a bit beyond us. Guess it's the Bryanston/Sandton of Adelaide LOL. We're from the South of Johannesburg and I guess the South will always be "home" to us, so hoping we can get jobs that are city centreish so we can use that fast train you told me about, as we might end up living nearby as well.

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  • 1 year later...

Hi guys,

Any of you currently staying in the Port Noarlunga area?

Cheers,

Robbie

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Hey Robbie

Will answer your other post as well... Both Tarryn (Deroche) and Tamara (HomesDownUnder) are in Port Noarlunga and we are in Seaford Rise, so yes we stayed in the South

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I stay in Christies Beach. A real up and coming area with development everywhere. Kids go to Port Noarlunga primary and are so happy.

Love it here and are saving for a house before the area gets too expensive.

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  • 1 month later...

.....and a highway that runs in only one direction.

We in the north-east have an O-bahn..

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  • 2 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

We are doing research on all the suburbs in South Australia and Port Noarlunga nd Christies beach looks very attactive to us at this stage. We are making a short list of all the suburbs we want to investigate the moment we land our feet in SA. Thanks for all the info guys!

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Hi Robbie, slowly but surely getting there the list is getting shorter and shorter :)

Will post my shortlist the moment I am done! :ilikeit: Being in Adelaide, do you have any suggestions on suburbs worth considering putting/keeping on our list? I don't have the list with my now, will see if I can post some on Monday for you.

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We also dream of going to Adelaide - if things do work out that way, we'll most definitely want to settle to the South. Even in the Hills district.

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Personally. we prefer the South over the North. We enjoy being close to the beach etc. Thats not to say there arent any suburbs in the north we wouldnt want to live in.. we just felt the South suited us more.

If you give me the list of suburbs you were thinking about i could comment on these as well as provide with you additional suburbs which you could add to you list?

Feel free to PM me.

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Also… with regards to suburb choice, you might want to take these things into consideration:

1: You budget - are you happy to pay over $600pw to be close to the city or would you be happier paying $300pw to live further out?

2: Type of property – 1 bedroom unit or 4 bedroom house with large garden?

3: Choice of transport – Are you relying on public transport or do you only intend of driving to work?

4: School Zones – do you need to take public school zones into consideration or are planning to send your kids to private schools?

5: Other – Do you like to be close to the beaches, large shopping malls etc?

Just a few criteria to think about..

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Hi Robbie, your insight is very valuable to me. Thanks. We are not 'city people' so living a bit further out is perfect for us. In fact we live on a farm now and initially looked at Adelaide Hills and Handorf, but we want a change, our son would love the beach. I guess transport are very important in the beginning untill we get a car. School zones are important for the future. Our little guy is 2years and 6 months so schools were not part of my initial criteria list. BUT thinking about it now, the time gets closer and closer for him to go to school and we wouldn't want to move just because of schools in a few years time. Will have to look at schools in the areas I am interested in. And make sure about public transport, and hospitals/clinics.

I cant believe I forgot the list AGAIN, but I can recall most on my list:

Port Noarlunga - Was definately in the top 2, something about this place that attracts me and I cant put my finger on it.

Seaview Downs

Glenelg

Moana

West Beach

Flinders Park

Henley Beach

There is about 3 more suburbs that I cannot remember the names now. Will try and remember my list tomorrow :)

Thanks forumites, ....... :yourock:

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Hey,

If you planning to work in the city, personally I wouldn’t go much further than Port Noarlunga, unless you happy to do a 1 hour “door step to door step” commute.

We not big city people either, so we chose to live in Flagstaff Hill, which is close to the city (15km), close to the beaches (7km), close to Flinders Hospital (3.5km) an you still living in the Hills and don’t feel that you living in a metropolitan suburb.

From my experience, generally if you live in a decent suburb, you will have a decent primary school to send your kids.

With regards to your list, Moana might be a bit too far if you planning to work in the city and Glenelg might be quite pricey. If you wanted to live close to the beach, other suburbs might offer you better value for money.

Some other suburbs which you might want to consider:

Pasadena (we lived there for a year, great suburb!)

Panaroma

Flagstaff Hill

Brighton (if you consider Glenelg, might be worthwhile adding this suburb too)

Hallet Cove

Sheidow Park

Trott Park

Aberfoyle Park

Happy Valley

Woodcroft

All the best!

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It sooooo helps being in contact with people already there. Thank you so much for your list :yourock:

You have no idea how much your input is helping me.

I think I will re-do my suburbs list. I am definitely going to look at Flagstaff Hill and surrounds.

It is so difficult sitting in SA not knowing what to expect, where to go. I got some of my info on suburbs on www.homely.com.au the people rate them there and give their thoughts. Will do research on Flagstaff Hill as well as neighboring suburbs. Will let you know what I find.

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I will put some pictures of the Port Noarlunga and Christies Beach area on for you to take a look.

I will start with a map of my local suburbs.

I can walk to the beaches within 15 minutes...2 minutes by car.

post-14378-0-22702500-1390940724_thumb.j

I took this picture from the Port Noarlunga jetty

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Also taken from the Port Noarlunga jetty

post-14378-0-33037000-1390941010_thumb.j

Christies Beach taken from the esplanade

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Port Noarlunga jetty

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I have dozens of pictures of the local area. Everything from shops, transport, entertainment, facilities etc and can load them as well?

Tamara

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Awesome pics!

We really love going down to Port Noarlunga on weekends (even during the week if we really wanted to). Its only about 20mins drive from us in Flagstaff Hill.

The only problem we had was that we felt it was just that little be too far to work (for us) in the city.

That extra 40mins travel every day, amounts to an extra 14 hours of travel every month.

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Thanks for the great pics, would love to see some more! What's the summer sea temperature like? We love swimming but not if the water is too cold. Is it as cold as Cape Town's?

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Wow thanks Tamara HDU, really like the pics. Please add some more if you have time?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Awesome pics!

We really love going down to Port Noarlunga on weekends (even during the week if we really wanted to). Its only about 20mins drive from us in Flagstaff Hill.

The only problem we had was that we felt it was just that little be too far to work (for us) in the city.

That extra 40mins travel every day, amounts to an extra 14 hours of travel every month.

Thanks Robbie....the great commuting debate!

We have friends that moved here and they stayed with us in Christies. He worked in the city in IT and caught a train from Noarlunga into the city on the morning express which took 29 minutes.

He's a keen golfer (too keen according to his wife!) and they moved to Flagstaff to a stunning house next to the golf course. He still didn't want to drive into the city every day (traffic, parking fees etc) so he decided to continue taking the train (or tram) from Glenelg. He then drove down to Glenelg and stood on the station as the express trains from Noarlunga went passing by as it didn't stop at all stations! The commute was so much longer yet the distance was half as much!

I better not tell my OH how time accumulates every day resulting in total hours every month...20 minutes a day can result in hours every month....he may stop shaving which will save him a few hours, a few hours more if he stops showering as well!!! OMG do I spend 30 hours a month walking the dog!!

Sorry about the delay with more pictures. My settings weren't set to let me know about additional posts.

I will load plenty of pictures on here...not just the stunning scenery ones, but everyday pics of the local area.

Tamara

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Thanks Tamara,

For me, I see time spent commuting as “dead time”, which could be used better elsewhere such as spending time with my kids or hobbies etc.

Although the train from Port Noarlunga might only be 29mins, it might take 10-15mins to get to the station, then another 10-15mins to get to your office.. so for me, an hour to get to work is too much travelling… its just my personal preferences.

I actually cycle to work (out of choice). My cycle to work (city) from Flagstaff Hill is about 30mins… so im happy with that :)

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Thanks for the great pics, would love to see some more! What's the summer sea temperature like? We love swimming but not if the water is too cold. Is it as cold as Cape Town's?

Hi there,

I grew up in Cape Town and Muzemberg was my local beach as a teenager.

When I had kids we used to take them down to St James and Fish Hoek...and sometimes down to Boulders as we lived in the southern suburbs. We very rarely went through to the colder water beaches of Clifton, Camps Bay etc although Hout Bay was a favourite (but not for swimming) to launch the inflatable. My OH had his skippers licence and we spent lots of time on the water.

You can get your licence here by writing a test at the local service SA centre...there's one in Christies Beach.

The sea temperatures for the Gulf St Vincent are about the same as Muizemberg...although for some reason they seem a little warmer? Port Noarlunga is protected by a natural reef and is used by families, by anglers from the jetty and by scuba divers at the end of the jetty / reef.

The temperatures for the year are:

Monthly Port Noarlunga water temperatures
  • Jan

    20.5°C

    68.9°

  • Feb 20.6°C69.1°F
  • Mar

    20.1°C

    68.2°F

  • Apr

    19°C

    66.2°F

  • May

    17.4°C

    63.3°F

  • Jun

    15.4°C

    59.7°F

  • Jul

    14.1°C

    57.3°F

  • Aug

    13.8°C

    56.8°F

  • Sep

    14.3°C

    57.8°F

  • Oct

    15.4°C

    59.8°F

  • Nov

    17.6°C

    63.6°F

  • Dec

    19.2°C

    66.6°

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These are a few pictures of the suburb next to Port Noarlunga....Christies Beach.

I have a house in Christies that is 100m from the Port Noarlunga boundary and a lot of the Port Noarlunga attractions are just as close to Christies.

Christies Beach esplanade, beach and surf lifesaving club.

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post-14378-0-20541400-1393034515_thumb.j

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