Wendy Root Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 HI we are moving to Adelaide in early January and was wondering which are the best areas to look at.. especially for what Christian schools to get my children into Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dax Posted June 25, 2008 Report Share Posted June 25, 2008 The thing about suburbs in Adelaide is that here are not really upper class & lower class types of suburbs like we knew in South Africa.In each suburb you tend to encounter a cross section of the population. Admittedly, there are some upper class sections, e.g. in the eastern areas, but houses are very expensive there.I will start to list some suburbs to avoid, in any case we would think twice before living there.Firstly there are the northern suburbs. Golden Grove is actually OK, and lots of Saffers live there, but as a general rule of thumb I will be careful with suburbs that start with the prefix para- as well as the Elizabeth area. In actual fact be careful of most suburbs north of Grand Junction Road. In all honesty, there are very decent people who live there, but the “alternatives†are there in numbers as well.In the South I will avoid the Hackham area, Christies Beach , Flaxmill, O Sullivan’s Beach, Noarlunga, and some parts of Morphett Vale and Seaford Rise.Nicer areas in the south would include; Flaggstaff Hill, Aberfoyle Park, O Hallaron Hill, Happy Valley, Woodcroft, Trott Park, Hallet Cove, Eden Hills.Blackwood and Coromandel Valley are great as well, but could be pricey.As another rule of thumb, try to research a suburb before you rent or buy there, and try to check out where and how many housing trust houses there are in an area. It sounds a bit cynical, but the more housing trust houses in an area, the more problems you have with vandalism and hoon-driving amongst others. Therefore in an area like Aberfoyle Park you have some pretty great areas, but then there are a few spots where there are a lot of housing trust houses with its accompanying problems.Hope this helps,Dax Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MannyT Posted June 26, 2008 Report Share Posted June 26, 2008 (edited) HI we are moving to Adelaide in early January and was wondering which are the best areas to look at.. especially for what Christian schools to get my children intoHi WendyThere are christian schools/private schools located in most areas in a and around Adelaide.Where to live depends very much on what you can afford in terms of rent or to purchase and on personal preferences. Dax hays done a great job of defining/describing the socio economic satus of some of the suburbs in a and around Adelaide.There are certainly (like in South Africa and most other parts of the world) areas/suburbs that are considered to be more "upmarket"/expensive to live in and the "less fashionable"/"poorer" suburbs in and around Adelaide and other parts of Australia.It would make no sense to recommend that you consider buying a house in one of the really 'upmarket" suburbs like Springfield and to send your children to Mercedes College or Scott College as you may possibly not be able to afford to buy a house in Springfield or the school fees for either of the two colleges mentioned. Advisable to do research in advance but I would always recommend that you make a final decision only once you have arrived and have had the opportunity to visit some of the suburbs and to evaluate them for yourself. Enjoy!Manny Edited June 26, 2008 by MannyT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarina Posted June 26, 2008 Report Share Posted June 26, 2008 Hi Wendythanks for this - because I am in the same boat as you - will be moving to Adelaide in Jan 09 if not sooner. Dax and Manny have also come to my rescue with very informative info. Relocating to OZ is a huge step in our lives and believe me I am so apprehensive about were to stay which schools to put the kids in etc. so THANK YOU guys I would be researching a bit more on these better areas. Dax please clarify what are "housing trust houses".regardsZarina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Posted June 26, 2008 Report Share Posted June 26, 2008 Hi ZarinaHousing Trust houses are ones provided by the state government for people who are on certain kinds of benefits (welfare) and are subsidised. Like "staatsbehuising"...Wendy and Zarina,It's really hard to make a recommendation as to where people should be looking if we don't know where you will be working. No use recommending an area in the south if you will be working in the north, which could be an 80 km drive every day to work. Also, what is your budget? There are a huge range of areas to live in and housing varies from $5 mil in certain areas to $180K in others and everything inbetween. There are many suburbs which have quite a mixture of people living there. Also, do you want to be near the sea, in the hills, near the wineries, in the city? Do you like rural or urban, big gardens or no garden? Everything is available in Adelaide, just depends on what you're looking for. Regarding Christian schools - all private schools in Adelaide have some religious affiliation or other beside the Steiner schools. 98% of them are Christian, just different denominations. There are literally hundreds. What age are your children? It is more common to send children to the local primary school and then move them to private in high school if that's what you want. You need to decide what's important - how high a value do you place on academic standards, sports facilities, discipline etc.? There are so many combinations and the cost will vary hugely - from around $2000 per year to $ 17 000 a year per child. What is your budget for schooling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbawun Posted June 28, 2008 Report Share Posted June 28, 2008 Hi Wendy and ZarinaAlso relocating to Adelaide early next year ! Have 4 kids (all under 12) and also giving alot of thought to where to be looking to live in Adelaide re schools etc. Going on a visit in September for 2 weeks to try and get a better idea of what its like - scouring the internet for hours just doesn't seem to give you the whole picture ....Great to hear there other s africans in Adelaide ... gonna be picking your brains over the next few months !Cheryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 29, 2008 Report Share Posted June 29, 2008 To all those who would insist on looking in the southern districts of Adelaide, try looking north. I lived in Cape Town most of my life and see many similarities between Cape Town and Adelaide. Years ago the Cape northern suburbs (Cape Flats) were definately not the place to be. Recently (say the last 15 years or so), the northern suburbs have been "discovered" and that is where the new wealth is located - Tyger Valley, Oranjezicht etc. Adelaide is slowly going through the same process. In the years to come, the northern suburbs of Adelaide are going to blossom as can already be seen by the amount of new development north of Gepps Cross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesfan Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Hi AdelaideansI'm new to the forum and soon will be new to Adelaide. Hope you have space for 4 more Boertjies over there! We will probably arrive in Adelaide Oct/Nov 2008. My wife (a registered nurse) accepted a job offer from Clavary North Adelaide Hospital. That is at the North Terrace. As for me I'm still doing the job hunting thing. Can anyone advise me to where a nice area is that will not be too far from her hospital. As you may know nurses usually work shifts and sometimes nights as well. I wouldn't want her to travel long distances at night in a new city she doesn't know. Based on our budget we aim to spend about $250 per week for rent. We also need to consider a primary school for our 2 kids (age 11 and 8). Thanks, guys. It is great knowing that we will have a support system such as this whenever we need advise. RegardsJakes and Nelia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Hallo Jakes & NeliaLook, it's no use beating around the bush , so I'll just cut to the chase:Cavalry Hospital is situated in one of the more exclusive areas of Adelaide. North Adelaide is a very upmarket suburb (the hospital is not in North terrace, which is in the city, but rather in North Adelaide, which is the part just north of the Torrens river). Anywhere within a comfortable travelling distance of there is going to be way out of your budget. $250 per week is really very little and you will probably struggle to find anything for a family of 4 in that ballpark. So, step one is to adjust your expectations. Let's look at what is a good alternative:Look around the Campbelltown area. Anywhere in that vicinity is quite acceptable. Athelstone and highbury are nice as well, as is Rostrevor. Modbury is also OK as is Golden Grove. Watch out for anywhere north of Recency Road and anything with "Para" or "Downs" in the name. St Peters is lovely, as is Prospect and Norwood or Trinity gardens, all of which have good schools. The other thing to do is maybe look at getting a smaller place in a better area and put both kids in one bedroom or something like that. Look at something like a unit, which is a bit like a "meenthuis". You don't want a big garden anyway, because you won't have time to look after it and Filemon is staying home ...Lastly, don't worry about your wife driving long distances at night. There are many many many ladies who do that without a second thought and it's perfectly safe. Adelaide is a very easy city to find your way around and there are good transport links to the North East from North Adelaide. She can always take a bus as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesfan Posted July 3, 2008 Report Share Posted July 3, 2008 Thanx for the info Annette. It helps a lot. It seems the Cambelltown area comes up a lot on the forum as a favourite. North East seems like a good idea.Hallo Jakes & NeliaLook, it's no use beating around the bush , so I'll just cut to the chase:Cavalry Hospital is situated in one of the more exclusive areas of Adelaide. North Adelaide is a very upmarket suburb (the hospital is not in North terrace, which is in the city, but rather in North Adelaide, which is the part just north of the Torrens river). Anywhere within a comfortable travelling distance of there is going to be way out of your budget. $250 per week is really very little and you will probably struggle to find anything for a family of 4 in that ballpark. So, step one is to adjust your expectations. Let's look at what is a good alternative:Look around the Campbelltown area. Anywhere in that vicinity is quite acceptable. Athelstone and highbury are nice as well, as is Rostrevor. Modbury is also OK as is Golden Grove. Watch out for anywhere north of Recency Road and anything with "Para" or "Downs" in the name. St Peters is lovely, as is Prospect and Norwood or Trinity gardens, all of which have good schools. The other thing to do is maybe look at getting a smaller place in a better area and put both kids in one bedroom or something like that. Look at something like a unit, which is a bit like a "meenthuis". You don't want a big garden anyway, because you won't have time to look after it and Filemon is staying home ...Lastly, don't worry about your wife driving long distances at night. There are many many many ladies who do that without a second thought and it's perfectly safe. Adelaide is a very easy city to find your way around and there are good transport links to the North East from North Adelaide. She can always take a bus as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bronwyn Posted July 4, 2008 Report Share Posted July 4, 2008 (edited) Hi Jakes & NeliaVery good advice from Annette and also Dax, I would agree with everything. If possible rent a house in the North-East, close to public transport links and very near the kids school. You can't go wrong. You can look at the Adelaide Metro Bus Timetables here. http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/Your wife doesn't have to be nervous of catching buses and it will save you a lot of money. Parking in town is so expensive, most people don't take a car in. For example, consider Athlestone Primary, I have friends with kids in that school and they are happy. They actually live in Highbury. You can also talk to Lourens on the forum, I think his kids also go there. The suburbs of Athlestone and Highbury flank Linear Park, which is a really pretty greenbelt running through the city. You and the kids can ride bikes, jog etc. there if you are into that sort of thing.Take this opportunity to make your lives eaisier. You know, obviously, that you can look for rentals on Real Esate.com ? Here:- http://www.realestate.com.au/cgi-bin/rsear...nf=rbs&a=sfRegards, BronwynPS. I wanted to say that Annette is right about North Adelaide being exclusive. There is a tiny suburb in there called Medindie. I am told that there are more Lamborghini's registered there than in any other part of Adelaide. Confusingly, Adelaide North is not known as a great part of town. So don't get confused. North Adelaide is cool (lots of trendy coffee shops), Adelaide North isn't (lots of car dealerships). They are 2 different places. Edited July 4, 2008 by Bronwyn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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