Adelaide Suburbs

[Lourens]

am relocating to Adelaide with my family at the end of February (actually, I am flying over then, and my wife and kids are joining me at the end of March). This means that I basically have one month to find a suitable rental house, in the right suburb, near the right schools, etc! Through my own research I have more or less identified the North Eastern suburbs as the place to start looking for accommodation. However, I would deeply appreciate any advice from saffers already settled in Adelaide. Replies to questions such as :

Are there any suburbs/areas to avoid (like in SA);

Are there specific areas where many saffers reside, or are they generally spread throughout Adelaide;

Because I have quite a large family (4 children), we would obviously prefer a 4 bdroom or 3 bdroom with study setup, but is that even possible on a budget of $350 pwk?

Any help would be very welcome indeed. We have so many more questions, but let's start with the basics first ...

Lourens

[berndt]

Hallo Lourens

Stuur e-mail vir Carel of Kobie Boshoff. Hulle was saam met my op skool en woon al 'n hele ruk in Adelaie

Hulle behoort vir jou goeie raad te kan gee

carel dot boshoff at asc dot com dot au

kobie dot boshoff at unisa dot edu dot au

Ek woon in Brisbane en is maar pas 5 maand in OZ. Kan jou niks oor Adelaide sê nie

Cheers

Berndt

ps. Unisa staan vir University of South Australia - nie die een op die bult in Pretoria nie !

[Annette]

Sjoe Berndt, is dit 'n goeie idee om jou vriende se empos sommer so vir almal te wys? Enige ou kan mos enige nonsens stuur vir hulle ...

Lourens,

You can get a 4 bedroom house for that price, but you may have to look quite far North-East for that. The Eastern suburbs are generally the more expensive ones, along with the immediate beachside ones. Have you looked at www.realestate.com.au? This will give you a rough idea, but beware that a lot of the places look a lot better on the web that they do in real life. There is a serious shortage of good rentals in Adelaide, so hold out a bit until you get here and then wear out the estate agents' welcome mats . They won't get back to you, you will have to check back constantly and pick up the weekly lists from the different offices, but believe me, persistence pays off...

Saffers are spread wide and far, all over the place. There seems to be a bit of a concentration in Hallet Cove (along with Brits), but other than that, not particularly...

The areas to avoid are generally a personal matter and people can get very upset when you think their area is not as good as others, but very generally, the general consensus is that areas of Elizabeth and the far northern suburbs are "problematic", as are Salisbury Downs, Christie Downs, parts of Port Noarlunga and some bits of Morphettvale and Reynella, although other parts in those areas are great. Best is to get here and drive, drive and drive until you are totally fed up and then decide... there are also antastic country areas around Adelaide, you don't have to restrict yourself to the "burbs".

[jaxmvr]

Ag, ek hoop iemand kan my help. Ek het op Realestate.com.au gaan kyk na Rentals in Adelaide, maar ek het myself so geconfuse dat ek gedink het ek sal maar hier kom raad vra. Daar is soveel suburbs en ek weet nie regtig hoe ver wat van wat af is nie.

Can any one help me with a few suburbs to look at, not too expensive though. And where 4 bedrooms are not $700 a week.

Ek het probeer om 'n nice map te kry van Adelaide met suburb profiles maar kry nie veel nie.

Hoor graag van julle.

[conroys]

Ons is nog in Suid Afrika, maar met die bietjie navorsing wat ons gedoen het lyk dit of die noordelike (veral Noord-Wes) voorstede die meeste misdaad statistieke het. Dit yk dus of mens na die Ooste of Suide kant moet kyk...

Die bolgende web-site help om uit te vind waar is watter voorstad:

http://www.wilmap.com.au/samaps/adsubs.html

[Pippa]

Dear jaxmvr,

I am also reading a lot on Adelaide at the moment and I agree that there are just so many suburbs to choose from . Adelaide has a lot to offer in terms of variety on suburbs ; one have a choice between staying in the Hills, the normal suburbs or in suburbs close to the sea. From what I’ve read and heard so far from various sources, the following suburbs seem very nice :

Aldgate, Dulwich, Hahnhoff (not sure about the spelling), Stirling, Norwood, North Adelaide, Glenelg etc.

I’ve also heard of Mawson Lakes, Athelstone and see that the Brits discussed Hallet Cove on AdelaideBrits recently.

I am sure Annette, Bob or Bronwyn will be able to help you out on the nice and affordable suburbs in Adelaide.

Good luck!

Bye, Pippa! X

[Annette]

Jax, dit hang so baie af van wat jy regtig soek. Daar is regtig iets vir almal in Adelaide een ding om in gedagte te hou is dat baie van die suburbs hier (en ek dink ander plekke in Aus ook) redelik gemeng is, so daar is nie so 'n groot skeiding tussen goed en minder goed as miskien in Suid-AFrika nie. Ek sal maar net my subjecktiewe opinie gee oor watter voorstede ek van hou (natuurlik is Adelaide ook klein genoeg dat jy glad nie in die "burbs" hoef te bly nie, maar ook in enige van die vele pragtige klein dorpies om die stad). Al die bogenoemde is goed, maar ek self hou glad bv. nie van Glenelg nie. Ek is ook nie mal oor Norwood nie, maar daar is lekker winkels en kafeetjies. Altwee is te "urban" vir my, maar sal ander mense goed pas. Mawson Lakes is baie nuut en modern. Ek sal glad nie daar aard nie, maar ander is baie beindruk daardeur. Ek dink dis goed beplan, maar weereens te "meenthuiserig" vir my. Daar is ook nog nie mooi groot bome nie, wat vir my erg sal wees. Daar is byvoorbeeld geen tuine nie, net die huis met 'n nou strokie sement of plaveisel om dit. Ek is verskriklik gelukkig in Bellevue Heights. Dis 'n lekker oop suburb met 'n uitsig oor die see. Die huise is bekostigbaar tot duur (afhangend van hoe goed die uitsig is!). Die meeste van die suburbs hier in die Blackwood area is vir my fantasties: Glenalta, Hawthorndene, Coromandel Valley, Eden Hills en dan een van my gunstelinge en in my opinie die bes beplande suburb in Adelaide: die Craigburn Estate in Flagstaff Hill (die ouer deel, nie die nuwe een nie, dis te "Desperate Housewives" vir my. Flagstaff HIll self is ook baie oulik. Dan is daar ook Rostrevor, Highbury en areas soos Glen Osmond, Torrens Park ens. Jy sal sien ek hou maar van die heuwels, veral rondom die "foothills". Ek hou ook verskriklik baie van Strathalbyn, wat net 40 minute se ry op die snelweg is van Adelaide. Dis 'n pragtige ou dorp wat deur die Skotte gestig is.

Dit hang regtig baie af van waarna jy kyk. Laat ons bietjie weet of jy naby die see wil wees, of ver, heuwels of plat, warm of koel en ook of skole 'n faktor sal wees (as jy privaatskole gaan gebruik is dit minder van 'n oorweging).

[kangaroo]

Thanks for the detail, Annette!

...Much appreciated All this variety Adelaide offers sounds lovely!

Liza

[jaxmvr]

Baie dankie vir almal se terugvoer. Ons het vandag gehoor ons het ons Visas gekry! Ons is in die wolke. Ons dink erg daaraan om Adelaide toe te kom, maar mens moet seker gaan waar die werk is. Ons vriende bly in Brisbane, ons het verlede jaar daar gaan kuier en alhoewel dit 'n pragtige plek is en nie te onbekostigbaar nie is dit ongelooflik warm daar.

Ons gaan die kinders in staatskole sit en ek wil net in 'n lekker buurt bly wat nog redelike groot huise teen bekostigbare pryse het. Ek gaan bietjie op Realestate.com.au kyk na al die buurte wat julle voorstel.

Dit help om mense se terugvoer te kry, dit maak die soektog soveel makliker.

[Annette]

Hi Jax,

As jy vir my 'n idee gee wat bekostigbaar is vir julle, kan ek dalk 'n paar voorstelle maak. As Brisbane nie te onbekostigbaar lyk vir julle nie, dan sal jy lag in Adelaide Daar is sulke plekke in Adelaide, maar mens moet bereid wees om dalk werk te doen aan die plek. Sal julle bereid wees om dit te doen?

PS: hou in gedagte dat "redelike groot huise" in Australië heeltemal iets anders is as in SA... verwag iets omtrent een derde kleiner as die gemiddelde "groot huis" in Suid-Afrika, dan sal jy nie te erg teleurgesteld wees nie.

PPS: BAIE geluk met die visa!

[jaxmvr]

Dankie Annette. Ek het nie regtig 'n idee oor die salarisse nie. Dit lyk of ons maksimum $400 sal kan bekostig, tensy ons altwee gaan werk (dan behoort ons seker meer te kan bekostig). Ek het 'n baie stresvolle werk in SA en is baie van die huis af weg en my kinders is klein. Ek wil bietjie mamma wees by die huis . Die huis hoef regtig nie 'n mansion te wees nie. Solank ek minimum 3 slaapkamers en 2 badkamers het en dalk 'n ekstra gaatjie vir 'n rekenaar en 'n liasseerkas. Ons het hier 'n swembad, maar met die navorsing wat ek al gedoen het is dit nie 'n algemene ding in Aus nie? Dit is die amazingste gevoel om te weet ons is voor Kersfees in Australia - ONS NUWE LAND!!! (WATTER SMILEY GEBRUIK MENS VIR "EK VOEL SO TROTS"?)

[Marius]

Jaxmvr,

Julle kan 'n huis met 2 badkamers en 3 slaapkamers huur vir tussen $ 250 en $ 350 per week, no worries, as julle gelukkig is met 'n swembad as julle wil he maar dit kan julle soek biejie moeiliker maak want soos jy weet is dit nie algemeen nie.Huur huise is maar skaars deesdae, in elk geval raai ek julle aan om vir die eerste rukkie in 'n karavaanpark tuis te gaan in 'n chalet ( dis redelik goedkoop, so $ 80-100 per week ) en kyk goed waar julle wil vestig en of die omgewing en skoke in julle zone vir julle goed is.Maak dan ingelige besluite.Dis die beste, ons kan aanbevelings van hier gee, maar aan die einde is dit elke mens se eie voorkeure wat die deurslag gee en die finale keuse beinvloed.

Hou kontak en laat weet hoe julle planner verloop om trotse Adeladians te word

[Annette]

Net 'n klein korreksie Marius, as jy nie omgee nie - dis $80 - 100 per nag, nie per week nie.

Jax, I suggest looking from about 15 - 20 km and further from the city in that price range. We pay $375 per week and have 3 bedrooms, 1 and a half bathrooms (you won't easily find two full ones here) and a small study, plus a wonderful pool and spa. We live 18 km from the CBD. The house is oldish (70's) and the decor very dated, with no aircon or heating, but it's perfectly comfortable and quite big. and at least it's built of brick!

Edited February 3, 2007 by Annette

[Pippa]

Hi Annette,

and the decor very dated, with no aircon

Do you live in a fully furnished house? We are not planning on bringing our furniture with us and I did not see a lot of fully furnished rental properties on RealEstate.com.au

Have a lovely weekend!

Lovies, Pippa! X

[Lourens]

Hi Pippa,

Ons is maar redelik nuut hier op saaustralia, maar jy lyk beslis na die regte persoon om mee te kommunikeer in verband met behuising, skole ens in Adelaide! Ons sukkel tans bietjie met die mediese goedkeurings proses van ons visa aansoek, maar sal hopelik binne die volgende paar weke finaliteit oor ons visa goedkeuring kry (hou duim vas!). Ons is dan oppad Adelaide toe en is baie opgewonde oor ons nuwe tuiste (ek sal so teen einde Maart oorkom en my vrou en kinders einde April).

Ons soek tans woonbuurte waar ek na huurhuise kan begin soek sodra ek geland het, maar dis natuurlik baie moelik oor die internet (selfs met ‘n goeie website soos realestate.com) om op die regte areas te besluit. Ek het tot dusver meestal gesoek in die Noord-Oostelike gebiede soos Campbelltown, Windsor Gardens, Rostrevor, Athelstone, Highbury, en verder af na Stoneyfell, ens., maar soos wat jy Hawthorndene, Glenalta, Bellevue Heights en omliggende gebied beskryf, klink dit regtig nice!

Ons huidige situasie : Ons woon tans in die noordelike voorstede van Kaapstad, in ‘n redelike ruim 3 slaapkamer siersteen huis met ‘n swembad. Ons het 4 kinders. Waarna ons soek : Nie te ou huis nie ; 3 ruim slaapkamers (met ekstra studeerkamer of 4de slpkamer sal bonus wees); redelike ruim leefvertrekke; 1.5 badkamers; tuin. Ander oorwegings : Nie teen die see nie, maar ook darem nie te ver daarvandaan nie; Heuwels; Publieke vervoer; Goeie publieke skool; Parke (openbare “groen” areas). Om veilig te speel het ons ons huur- budget vasgestel op $350 per week, ten minste tot wanneer my vrou begin werk (maar dit sal seker eers na 6 maande wees). My werk sal in die middestad wees – kan jy my dus asb ‘n aanduiding gee van hoe lank mens vanaf die Bellevue Heights area in spitsverkeer stad toe sal ry? Al die bogenoemde in aggenome, kan jy ons asb bietjie raad gee oor waar ek kan begin soek na ‘n huurhuis?

Dit sal ook baie help as jy ons kan verwys na ‘n paar goeie publieke laerskole in die woonbuurte wat jy dan voorstel.

Jou raad sal so baie waardeer word.

‘n Ander belangrike vraag wat ons het, is min of meer wat ‘n gesin soos ons s’n benodig vanaf ‘n weeklikse budget perspektief om darem ‘n gemidelde leefwyse te kan voer …

Vriendelike groete, en ek hoop ons kan jou in Adelaide ontmoet een van die dae!

Lourens en Elezea

[Pippa]

Beste Lourens en Elezea

Ek dink julle verwar my dalk met Annette , want sy is eintlik die expert op Adelaide. Ons is nog in Pretoria, maar hoop om teen Augustus in Australia te wees . Ons kyk ook baie na Adelaide, maar ek hou ook baie van Melbourne. My man het sy hart verloor op Adelaide nadat hy so baie navorsing gedoen het . Ons gaan in April in Adelaide wees om net vinnig te kyk en dan begin die groot pak vir Augustus.

Ongelukkig gaan ek jou nie regtig kan help met 'n begroting nie , want ons is maar self baie nuut in die ding. Ek stel voor dat jy vir Bob, Annette, Marius of Bronwyn kontak vir meer inligting. Hulle almal het ons al ongelooflik gehelp !

Ons sal definitief 'n plan maak om mekaar in Adelaide te ontmoet.

Sterkte en groete vir die Kaap!

Groete, Pippa! X

[Guest Bronwyn]

Hi Lourens - We are renting in Adelaide at the moment. We decided on Rosslyn Park because it is close to town and a good primary school, but we found out it is a little more expensive. We were also a bit under pressure over Christmas, but still happy with our decision so far. You can get a really nice house for less a bit further out, as Annette says.

What I wanted to tell you is that we have met great South African friends here who have already been in Adelaide for 4 years, so they have had a chance to do a lot more research than us (we only landed in December). These friends rented for 3 years in Athlestone, and then bought a house that they are renovating in the suburb just next door, called Highbury. Their 3 boys all went to Athlestone Primary. They speak very highly of this school, and I have had e-mails from the principal Geoff Dowling (before we signed in Rosslyn Park) making our kids welcome if we decided to settle there.

I think the area is nice, we have been to visit them several times there. Both Athlestone and Highbury border 'Linear Park' which is a very big green belt where kids can ride their bikes etc. There are also lots of trees near their house and it is pretty. I think you will definately be able to get something under $350 there. I know it is on bus routes and the high school for the area is Charles Campbell High. You can pick both schools up on the internet and look at the Curriculum, uniform, etc.

It is hard when you don't have an idea where to start. I think the above will suit you, but there are many more options too. Annette lives in a beautiful setting with huge trees around...We also saw quite a few houses in Magill for less than $300, but they tended to be smaller (max 3 beds), on small lots.

Don't take the first house you see (and compromise) - you can be a bit fussy, but make sure you have written references and e-mail addresses of any references ie. How well you paid your rent/mortgage before, any levy/lights & water statements, e-mail addresses of responsible people who can give you character references, etc. they will check on you. Remember here your 'bond' means a deposit, and your loan is called a 'mortgage', not a bond. we got everyone confused at first

Hope it helps. If you see somewhere else you are curious about give us a shout and we will try to find out more for you.

Regards, Bronwyn

Edited February 3, 2007 by Bronwyn

[Lourens]

Hi Pippa,

Groot askies jong!

Ag wat, so ontmoet ons mos maar ander ook ... Hoop om julle in ADL raak te loop. Ons was bietjie skepties oor Adelaide (veral my vrou), omdat die Auzies way ek ontmoet het op 'n besigheidsbesoek daar verlede jaar (in Perth) vir my laat verstaan het dat Adelaide die laaste plek is waar die Auzies wil woon. Ons sal seker sodra ons permanente verblyfreg gekry het (hopelik orr so 2 jaar), weer kykna waar ons finaal wil settle en Melbourne lyk op hierdie stadium vir ons ook na 'n goeie opsie.

Chat weer later,

Lourens

[Lourens]

Hi Bronwyn,

Thank you very much for the info. I also had a good look at Athelstone and Highbury and it does seem like really nice areas. I was also impressed by Athelstone Primary, as well as Campbelltown Primary (however it is a little far away from Athelstone). Can you perhaps give me an idea of how long it would take to drive into CBD from Athelstone/Highbury in peak traffic, seeing that I'll be working there?

Can you perhaps shed some light on budget? More specifically, what would be a typical approximate weekly budget for a family such as mine (4 kids!)?

In terms of suburbs, I have been interested in the North Eastern suburbs and haven't really focussed on other areas yet.

Regarding the references, we are home owners here in Cape Town so references in terms of rental, levys etc would not be easy to get. What would you suggest ?

Kind regards,

Lourens

[Bianca S]

Voorspelling v styg in gemiddelde huis-waarde in Adelaide:

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/pdf/houseprices.pdf

[jaxmvr]

Dankie vir julle almal se replies. Dit help baie, en die coffee club gister het ook gehelp. Omtrent 'n tou trekkery tussen Adelaide en Brisbane . Ons het gelukkig nog 'n rukkie oor om te besluit, maar maak nie saak waar ons gaan nie, die forum bring mens baie naby aan mekaar

[Guest Bronwyn]

Hi Lourens - I wish I could be more help with a budget but honestly I don't know yet. We only moved into our house last week and I don't even know how to pay the electricity and gas. You will have to give me a little longer or ask Annette. When I have a good enough idea I will post it.

Second, I think it will take you a maximum of 25 to 30 minutes to drive from Athlestone to city in peak traffic. Remember according to our friends Highbury is a little more affordable and has all the same benefits as Athlestone.

There is another school on the same road called Paradise Primary but I have no idea f it has a good or a bad reputation. The school itself looks very nice, with big playing areas and trees, nice flowers, etc. It looks very well maintained. I know there is a lot of info about Adelaide schools on the AdelaideBrits site: http://www.adelaidebrits.net/, maybe you should have a look in there.

Regards, Bronwyn

Edited February 4, 2007 by Bronwyn

[Lourens]

Hi Annette,

Dankie vir die info. Kan jy dalk help met nog 2 vragies :

1) Ek probeer uitwerk wat 'n tipiese weeklikse budget vir 'n gesin sal wees om darem 'n redelike gemiddelde leefwyse te kan volhou. Ons het 'n groot gesin - 4 kinders. Sal, byvoorbeeld, $4000 per maand of $1000 per week voldoende wees? Ek weet dit hang van baie faktore af, maar ons probeer maar 'n aanduiding kry ...

2) As ons bietjie verder van die stad af soek na 'n huurhuis (waar ons dalk iets groter teen laer tariewe kan kry) - hoe erg is die peak traffic regtig daar ? Hoe lank sou jy skat sal dit neem om in peak traffic vanaf Athelstone/Highbury na die CBD te ry? Of vanaf Blackwood?

Jou raad beteken regtig baie!

Dankie,

Lourens & Elezea

[Pippa]

Hi Annette and Berndt,

Sjoe Berndt, is dit 'n goeie idee om jou vriende se empos sommer so vir almal te wys? Enige ou kan mos enige nonsens stuur vir hulle ...

You will see that I've changed the email addresses above so that you friends don't get spam.

Bye, Pippa! X

[Marius]

Lourens,

I live in the North Eastern area in Newton and it is a fairly good are to settle I think. In terms of budget, well that depends on family lifestyle I suppose, but in general and as very broad guide I recon about $500 - 800 per week ( rent included ) is a fair everage guide. However it could vary depending on peoples unique circumstances and desired lifestyle. Of course also on the amount earned I suppose. The shcools in this area is also fairly good I think and there are several Saffer kids in them, including my own. The areas you mention are all in this cluster. You can find a reasonable house you are looking for here for about $ 350, plus minus $ 30 I recon.