Moving from Auckland to Adelaide - have some concerns

[2Saffers2Kiwis]

Hi everyone! My husband and I moved from Joburg to Auckland (New Zealand) 5 years ago to get away from the crime/bad service/etc. Since then we have had two kids (both Kiwis). Leaving South Africa was definitely the best thing we ever did and New Zealand is a great country.... BUT we are incredibly sick of this rainy weather. It feels like it has been raining non-stop since Autumn started and it gets really depressing. We are getting our New Zealand citizenship next year and are seriously thinking of moving to Australia in 2012. We have looked at all the main cities and so far Adelaide is the most appealing - it seems like a nice place to raise kids, close to the beach, not too rainy in winter, lower house prices etc. But obviously we still have our doubts as it is such a life-changing decision.

I have a few questions and would really appreciate any input from anyone already living in Adelaide

When you arrived in Adelaide, where did you stay while you waited for your stuff to be shipped over? (one of my big worries)

I have read in summer it can get up to 40 degrees – is it just a few days or is the majority of the summer that hot?

What are the best and worst parts about living in Adelaide?

What are the best suburbs (especially for kids)?

Are the beaches good places for kids to play? In Auckland the beaches mostly consist of shells/stones so not exactly a fun place to build sandcastles etc.

Are there places where you can buy South African food? Any restaurants similar to Spur or Wimpy?

In Auckland there are a lot of shops where you can buy biltong, droewors, boerewors and tons of other South African products. You can also buy South African alcohol (Hunters dry/Amarula/etc) at a lot of bottle stores. They don't have restaurants like Spur/Wimpy here. There is one restaurant run by South Africans with SA-style food but it is almost an hours drive from us. One thing that annoyed the heck out of me was not being able to find any ‘proper’ ice-cream sundaes (especially when I was pregnant and craving one for months!)– after 3 years we found a great little place (run by South Africans) that sells sundaes and waffles – yum! So am a bit reluctant to give those things up

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Deborah]

hi

We did just that. Spent 12 years in Paekakariki just north of Wellington. Loved NZ, but the weather is bad. The lack of summer is quite depressing and I found my kids were spending too much time indoors. My son's asthma was also starting to get bad (NZ has one of the worst asthma rates in the western world) and we know from family history that living somewhere dry and hot is good for his type of Asthma.

So we packed and came to Adelaide. I stayed in NZ with the kids and packed up and sold the house. My husband came over here a bit earlier and sorted this end out. I sent our stuff over in a container and then we camped in our empty house for about a month - borrowing stuff from friends. I thought it would be easier to borrow stuff in NZ as we had friends! So we were here for about 2 weeks before our container was unpacked into our house (spent a week at customs getting cleared and all that jazz). We lived in a partially furnished apartment while waiting for our house settlment and stuff to arrive.

I LOVED the heat last summer (it's not humid, so 40 is quite manageable). So brilliant to feel that heat on your skin again and endless days of warmth and nights where you sit outside and braai and swim in the pool till late. We went camping in the Flinders with some friends and it was incredible. Again sitting outside around a huge fire and kids hooning about till about 11pm (on their bikes and playing jack, jack shine your light). I missed all that in NZ as usually you are too cold.

The winter is cold (nothing like NZ though), but I rather like having seasons, it's having NO summer that I found difficult.

I don't know about South African products, but I'm sure you can find it here. The food here is incredible. The Central Market is stunning.

As for suburbs - that's a very difficult question to answer - will depend on what you want. You can PM me when you are thinking of specific suburbs and I can tell you about them or what I know. We are in Highbury and I'm very happy here.

The worst part about living in Adelaide is nothing to do with Adelaide, but rather just the restarting experience again, which you know all about.

I do struggle with the 'ugliness' of some suburbs, but if that's all that's bothering me, that's pretty good. It's just shallow, superficial stuff. NZ is so beautiful that you do get a bit spoilt there.

The beaches are sublime.....we go to Semaphore and on a good day it's crystal clear and shallow for miles. White sand, baking heat....coffee, wine, etc. We had a great time last summer.

Australians are very friendly and easy going. Adelaide is very child and family friendly.

there is, in my opinion, nothing to not like about Adelaide (or Australia). The only difficulty is restarting again. If your kids are young (which they must be if they were born in NZ) and you are thinking about moving again, do it sooner rather than later. My two are 7 and 8 and are ok now but it was a bit of a struggle in the beginning.

If you are strong enough to do it all again, then I would highly recommend Adelaide (and Australia). It's a fabulous place.

ask me anything, anytime.

debbie

[quinswan]

Hi everyone! My husband and I moved from Joburg to Auckland (New Zealand) 5 years ago to get away from the crime/bad service/etc. Since then we have had two kids (both Kiwis). Leaving South Africa was definitely the best thing we ever did and New Zealand is a great country.... BUT we are incredibly sick of this rainy weather. It feels like it has been raining non-stop since Autumn started and it gets really depressing. We are getting our New Zealand citizenship next year and are seriously thinking of moving to Australia in 2012. We have looked at all the main cities and so far Adelaide is the most appealing - it seems like a nice place to raise kids, close to the beach, not too rainy in winter, lower house prices etc. But obviously we still have our doubts as it is such a life-changing decision.

I have a few questions and would really appreciate any input from anyone already living in Adelaide

When you arrived in Adelaide, where did you stay while you waited for your stuff to be shipped over? (one of my big worries)

I have read in summer it can get up to 40 degrees – is it just a few days or is the majority of the summer that hot?

What are the best and worst parts about living in Adelaide?

What are the best suburbs (especially for kids)?

Are the beaches good places for kids to play? In Auckland the beaches mostly consist of shells/stones so not exactly a fun place to build sandcastles etc.

Are there places where you can buy South African food? Any restaurants similar to Spur or Wimpy?

In Auckland there are a lot of shops where you can buy biltong, droewors, boerewors and tons of other South African products. You can also buy South African alcohol (Hunters dry/Amarula/etc) at a lot of bottle stores. They don't have restaurants like Spur/Wimpy here. There is one restaurant run by South Africans with SA-style food but it is almost an hours drive from us. One thing that annoyed the heck out of me was not being able to find any ‘proper’ ice-cream sundaes (especially when I was pregnant and craving one for months!)– after 3 years we found a great little place (run by South Africans) that sells sundaes and waffles – yum! So am a bit reluctant to give those things up

Thanks in advance for any help!

If it is good schools your after then it must be eastern suburbs like Unley, Burnside, Norwood etc

[Bob]

If it is good schools your after then it must be eastern suburbs like Unley, Burnside, Norwood etc

These eastern suburbs of Adelaide are only on the coastal plain where the inner suburbs are located.

There are some fabulous suburbs up in the hills, directly to the east of the city area . . . . the Adelaide Hills district . . . . which are now connected to the inner suburbs of Adelaide, since March 2000, by a motorway that took four years to build.

So . . . now it's 100 km/h driving thro rolling countryside till you hit the inner subs in a handful of minutes. No stopping. No traffic lights (robots).

http://www.southaustralia.com/AdelaideHills.aspx

Close by are great bushwalks on weekends, vineyards, apple orchards, quaint country restaurants with old world charm, ice creams to dream about, but I like the fact that you can find land enough to build your house on where you won't bump into your neighbour's fence when you walk out the back door of your house.

The summers aren't so hot as down in the city, and autumn time has such colours . . . beaut golden browns, reds, yellows, etc, on the many of the trees throughout the Hills . . . that it really is a treat to be living in one of Australia's most pleasant parts to be.

The schools are good, heaps of parks and reserves to let your kids play on, or just let them roam on their own to climb trees and fish in the creeks like kids should some time. No need to worry about them . . . they'll come home for tea-time when they're hungry! Mine did.

http://www.cornerstone.sa.edu.au/

My son, now a motor mechanic with his own business, a member of the A.I.M.E., was the State apprentice of the Year in his day, and my youngest daughter is studying dentistry on the Gold Coast in Queensland, so Cornerstone College can't be that bad!

There are quite a few good schools up in the Adelaide Hills.

I've lived in the Adelaide Hills since 1994, after coming back from Tasmania, and have seen it grow and grow.

No wonder it's South Australia's fastest growing district and one of the fastest growing in Australia!

http://www.dcmtbarker.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm

I strongly recommend to South Africans to stretch your wings and look a bit beyond just the inner suburbs of Adelaide for some great places to live and bring your kids up in.

[2Saffers2Kiwis]

Thanks for the responses!

Deborah, your reply makes me feel more secure about our decision to move there, it is so good to hear about another South African family who lived in NZ and ended up in Adelaide.

Your description of Adelaide sounds like paradise, but I know what you mean about how difficult it will be to start over. We want to try move before our oldest starts school (which will be in 2012).

It is so hard to know about the suburbs, I guess what we are looking for is a place that is close to a good (Public) school, not too far from city (in case I have to work there – I hate long commutes), middle-range housing prices.

I hope you don’t mind if I PM you if I think of more questions ïŠ

[rav]

Hi

We moved from Durban, South Africa 18 months ago to Adelaide. Its was a big change and love it here. Adelaide is just so beautiful. It is a great city to bring up kids. Adelaide is known as a small city with everything. Public transport is really good. We have had lots of rain this past winter and it was one of the coldest in many years. We survived it especially coming from Durban. Most homes have reverse-cycle airconditioning or some sort of heating & cooling systems. There are plenty of furnished and unfurnished accomodation available. We have a great South African Community who meet socially once a month. We do have a South African Shop here and you are able to get biltong, Mrs Balls Chutney, Five Rose Tea, Cross & Blackwell Mayonaise, Beers & Wine, etc. The owner of the shop oftens attends the socials in Adelaide. We did have a few 40deg days last summer but it was bearable. There are some great suburbs close to the city and there are a few suburbs where you would not even visit those are a bit out of the city, just depends what you looking for. The beaches are stunning, plenty of bathing beaches along the coastline and great parks. Well we have Cafe Primo which is similar to Spur. We do have places here where you can get Sundaes and waffles. You are welcome to address any other concerns you might have.

Regards

Rav

[2Saffers2Kiwis]

Hi We moved from Durban, South Africa 18 months ago to Adelaide. Its was a big change and love it here. Adelaide is just so beautiful. It is a great city to bring up kids. Adelaide is known as a small city with everything. Public transport is really good. We have had lots of rain this past winter and it was one of the coldest in many years. We survived it especially coming from Durban. Most homes have reverse-cycle airconditioning or some sort of heating & cooling systems. There are plenty of furnished and unfurnished accomodation available. We have a great South African Community who meet socially once a month. We do have a South African Shop here and you are able to get biltong, Mrs Balls Chutney, Five Rose Tea, Cross & Blackwell Mayonaise, Beers & Wine, etc. The owner of the shop oftens attends the socials in Adelaide. We did have a few 40deg days last summer but it was bearable. There are some great suburbs close to the city and there are a few suburbs where you would not even visit those are a bit out of the city, just depends what you looking for. The beaches are stunning, plenty of bathing beaches along the coastline and great parks. Well we have Cafe Primo which is similar to Spur. We do have places here where you can get Sundaes and waffles. You are welcome to address any other concerns you might have. Regards Rav

It sounds so great, I wish we didn't have to wait another year and a half to move there! Do you have a website for the South African Community or other info on how to join,etc? I would love to know some people already when we move there. I will definitely need to find out the location of the South African shop ïŠ

I am sure I will have more questions. Thanks for all the super info everyone!

[rav]

Hi

Search the web for SAcommunityinadelaide, you will get the website and all the links from that. Hope this helps.

Regards

[2Saffers2Kiwis]

Thanks!

[K-Vdm]

Hi

Search the web for SAcommunityinadelaide, you will get the website and all the links from that. Hope this helps.

Regards

Thanks SO much for this, there is a wonderful website with loads of info!