Adelaide Suburbs

[Pippa]

Hi Everyone,

Please note that there were 2 topics recently on Adelaide suburbs that I merged.

Bye, Pippa! X

[Marius]

Annette,

O hemel ja, per day for the caravan park not week, sorry

[Bob]

Lourens,

I remember Athelstone going up in the mid 70s, so housing there would date from that period mostly, although there are still many houses from the 1980s there, too.

Most folk working in the "city" (Adelaide CBD) would hop on the "O-bahn"

This is an idea borrowed from Germany where a corridor along the River Torrens is set aside for rapid transit by buses.

These special buses leave from the Adelaide city centre and when they get thro' the traffic as far as North Adelaide, a couple of miles out of the CBD, they travel on a special rail system that automatically guides the bus, much like tram tracks. The buses reach speeds of 100 km/h and stop only at a number of stops to drop off and pick up passengers.

You could access the CBD in peak hour in possibly 15 / 20 minutes as far as North Adelaide from as far out as Athelstone, some 20 kms or so. From then on, it's a slow drive into the city centre for the last couple of kms. . . . not too long!

Cost is around $2.50 (R14) each way in peak periods before 9:30am, I believe.

www.adelaidemetro.com.au

The north eastern suburbs of Adelaide are great areas to live in and have had a good reputation with Adelaide people for its services (shopping centres, schools, churches, parklands, etc.) and have the advantage of being along the "Torrens Linear Park", as mentioned by Bronwyn, which is a corridor on the River Torrens with walking and cycling tracks from the foothills to the sea, a distance of perhaps 35 / 40 kms. Your kids will love it riding among the trees and winding their way through the various parts of Adelaide that it goes through.

The foothills offer cool breezes on hot summer days to cool that particular part of Adelaide also. The locals refer to them as "gulley breezes" because they spill down from the Adelaide hills and are funnelled down the number of gullies that flow down from the hills.

There are a number of Conservation parks bordering the foothillls also, the best known being the "Morialta Falls C.P." which is free to park in and take the family for a stroll up the three stages of the falls. Be ready for about 10 km round walk, though, and a good climb in places.

Take camera because you can hunt for koalas sleeping there, nestled in a fork of the tree during day-time.

www.parks.sa.gov.au/morialta

[Annette]

Hey Pippa, I think Bob has very convincingly squashed that myth that I'm some kind of expert on Adelaide ... tee hee Hardly!

Lourens, ek het jou vraag beantwoord per PM, maar ek sal dit weer hier herhaal, sodat almal kan sien:

1) Ons sou nie kan klaarkom met minder as $1400 per week nie. Nie maklik nie. Of laat ek eerder sê die keuses wat ons maak vereis dat ons ongeveer daai bedrag per week moet spandeer . Marius, ou swaer, ek probeer hard maar kan nie eintlik verstaan hoe iemand $500 per week kan verdien, $350 per week aan huur betaal en dan net van $150 kan leef vir die res nie. Veral 'n gesin van 6 nie... in alle geval, hier is ons weeklise uitgawes (ons het toevallig nounet laasjaar se finansies hersien en dit is alles in MS Money, so ek kan die details maklik aflees):

Huur $375

Motor registrasie $ 21

Kar paaiement $100

Telefoon $18

Gas $5

Water $1

Elek $57

Skoolgeld $30

Petrol $75

Musieklesse $25

Balletlesse $30

Kos $200

Klere $20

Brille en kontaklense $4

Foxtel $15

Sportfooie $25

Selfoon $18

Internet $9

Parkering $10

Bestuurslisensies $8

Medisyne $3

Mediese versekering $23

Kar versekering $18

Fliek en uiteet $25

Troeteldiere $4

Hare, grimering ens $13

DIY, huishoudelik, meubels, swembadonderhoud ens $70

Dit kom op $1202. Dan het ons nog 'n spaarrekening vir Universiteit en vir vakansie en Kersfeesgeld. Verder is daar baie klein uitgawes soos skooluitstappies, buskaartjies, snoepiegeld (Vrydae) en sulke goedjies wat mens sommer kontent betaal en nie details wys op die rekening nie...

2) Dit vat my tussen 30 en 40 minute elke dag in spitverkeer om werk toe te ry in die stad. Ons is omtrent 5 min van Blackwood af. Ek reken dis omtrent dieselfde van Highbury en Athelstone.

[Bianca S]

Dankie Annette, gaan die sommer print en in my file sit!

[Dax]

Die volgende woonbuurte in die suide van Adelaideis ook goed om in gedagte te hou:

Aberfoyle Park

Happy Valley (Happy Valley Primary School is hoogs aanbeveelbaar)

Flaggstaff Hill (Het ook 'n baie goeie primere skool)

Chandlers Hill

O Hallaran Hill (Breaview Primary is baie goed, hoogs aanbeveelbaar)

Hallett Cove (Het ook goeie skole)

Dis moeilik om 'n algemene idee te gee vann weeklikse huur, maar 'n bedrag van ongeveer $200 tot $350 per week is miskien na aan die kol.

As jy rondsoek in die Happy Valley, Aberfoyle Park area veral, kan jy dalk iets goedkoper op die lyf loop.

Groete,

Dax

Edited February 7, 2007 by Dax

[jaxmvr]

Dankie Dax. Aberfoyle park lyk vir my na 'n goeie keuse, maar eintlik al die buurte wat almal genoem het.

Sal maar moet sien waar ons werk kan kry. Brisbane bly nie uitgesluit nie, aangesien ons baie goeie vriende daar het wat gulhartig hulle woonplek vir ons beskikbaar stel tot ons gesettle het. Dit kry mens nie baie nie en ons is baie na aan mekaar as vriende. Adelaide lyk egter na so 'n lekker plek om te vestig, veral omdat dit nie so humid is soos Brisbane nie. Dit maak dit nogal 'n moeilike besluit.

[Bob]

OK . . my curiosity has got the better of me.

What is a "Verkleurmannetjie"? Literally speaking, is it a "little coloured man?"

I got the "smartie's box" bit.

Edited February 7, 2007 by Bob

[jaxmvr]

OK . . my curiosity has got the better of me.

What is a "Verkleurmannetjie"? Literally speaking, is it a "little coloured man?"

I got the "smartie's box" bit.

Hi Bob

Verkleurmannetjie is Afrikaans for Chameleon. We name it that as the "verkleur" part of the word refers to the chameleon changing colours. It is one of those "lekker" words in Afrikaans.

[kangaroo]

Hi Bob

Thanks for the interesting info about the Northeastern suburbs that are situated along Torrens Linear Park, which sounds great! I love going for VEEERY long walks, so I'll definitely keep this in mind. Not that it's the only place to go walking/jogging in Adelaide of course, but it's great to know that the outdoors forms such a close part of urban life in Adelaide.

Annette, thanks for the outline of your weekly budget - I'll be living on my own and my only dependant will be my very cute & adventurous Yorkshire terrier , so there will be fewer expenses (probably) for me personally, but it's truly helpful to have a bit of a framework!

Dax, thanks for your tips too!

Liza

Edited February 7, 2007 by kangaroo

[Dax]

I forgot about Woodcroft, a suburb just south of Hapy Valley and Woodcroft Primary School also has an excellent reputation.

All the suburbs that I have mentioned are not to far away from the city centre. However, it can be a 40 min drive through the morning peak traffick.

Another generally OK suburb further to the south is Seaford Rise. Housing is still relatively cheap there, although it is sort of "at the end of the tramline." It is one of Adelaide's newer suburbs and have a mixed population of white and blue collar workers.

Seaford Rise Primary School is generally regarded as the best in its area.

Edited February 7, 2007 by Dax

[Annette]

Hehe Bob,

Basically - confused like a chameleon on a smarties packet!

Dax, All of those suburbs that you mentioned are high recommended by me as well. I don't know as much about them as my immediate area, but my daughter seems to have friends scattered all over those suburbs, as they come from far and wide to attend the school she goes to, Blackwood High. She seems to choose her friends based on geographical location - the further from us, the better! SO, mum's taxi has very thoroughly explored the highways and byways of abrfoyle Park, Flagstaff Hill, Happy Valley and Chandler's Hill.

Liza, yes you can probably cut down on that budget quite a lot! We are basically 4 adults, so have quite high costs... If you're single, you can have a loook at suburbs like Norwood, Parkside, North Adelaide and even the city itself. There are some fantastic apartments around now and a lot of new ones are being built all the time. Parkside and Norwood has lots of nice little Victorian cottages which are quaint and very well located for the caffe latte set

[Marius]

Annette,

Daar is baie mense wat op daai soort salaris lewe, en ja ek het self meer nodig oor my keuses. Ek meen baie mense verdien $ 500-800 per week, dis die gemiddelde lone, ek bedoel nie hulle huur huise van $350 nie.Ek weet van 'n paar nuwe aankomelinge wat in daai $800 kategorie verdien en heel OK lewe, hulle keurses is net anders dis al.Ek praat van gemiddeldes, nie spesifiek nie.

[Annette]

O ...

[Bob]

just a couple of links to the Torrens Linear Park (from Google.com.au)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torrens_Linear_Park

(click on the links to "Parks" for more parks and walks around the Adelaide environs)

http://www.adelaidereview.com.au/_archives...chive=110868932

In regard to the southern suburbs of Adelaide . . . .

Rent there, by all means, BUT the whole area has "Bay of Biscay" soil which is notorious for its shifting in the wet and dry times of the year. It is clay based and shrinks and swells with the moist and dry conditions of Adelaide's seasons.

This puts a lot of stress on the foundations of houses.

It's not uncommon to see cracks appearing in houses only as old as 5 years!

If you intend to buy in the southern suburbs, find out why the owners are selling?

Get a licensed building inspector to do a thorough check on the soil, foundations and structure of any house in the area you are serious about buying.

Don't get caught inheriting somebody else's nightmare.

[Dax]

Rent there, by all means, BUT the whole area has "Bay of Biscay" soil which is notorious for its shifting in the wet and dry times of the year. It is clay based and shrinks and swells with the moist and dry conditions of Adelaide's seasons.

This puts a lot of stress on the foundations of houses.

It's not uncommon to see cracks appearing in houses only as old as 5 years!

If you intend to buy in the southern suburbs, find out why the owners are selling?

Get a licensed building inspector to do a thorough check on the soil, foundations and structure of any house in the area you are serious about buying.

Don't get caught inheriting somebody else's nightmare.

I agree especially in respect of older houses, especially in areas like Morphett Vale, Reynella etc. Newer homes were built according to slab-like foundations and brick veneer specifications which address the clay cracking problem quite well. I live in the hilly part of Aberfoyle Park where the problem is almost non-existent, while Flaggstaff Hill again is "clay city."

So, the age of the house you are interested in is a factor, e.g. if a house is older than about 10 - 14 years you should be careful, like Bob rightly states, check houses that catches your interest very carefully.

Be especially careful of houses in the western suburbs, especially older areas and even posh older areas in the east such as Urrbrae, Fullarton, Parkside or Glen Osmond for example. With older houses in those areas you are virtually guaranteed problems with clay and cracking.

Cheers,

Dax

[Tazz]

Hi Guys,

A word of warning is that there is currently a shortage of rental housing in Adelaide.

This last week has been fairly stressful for us as the process can be rather frustrating.

Rental houses have normally only one showing time between 15 to 30 minutes. You get this info from the estate agencies,newspaper or internet. This could mean that if you see 2 houses you like and the viewing time is the same day, you can only see 1. If you like the house then you collect an application form and submit it ASAP. Sometimes you are competing against upto 30 people and the landlord makes the final choice.

The agents in general are unhelpful and tell you, that you must keep a look out !

I hope this helps in preparing forumites what to expect.

[Guest Bronwyn]

Hi Mark - We experienced the same thing, and it is very stressfull. In the end, we saw a house we liked on the internet in our price range and did a drive past. We went to the relevant Estate Agency and filled in an application, gave references, everything, even though the show day was only the next week. We bugged the agents about three times to get in early, but they said no. Then we went on the showday and the lady knew exactly who we were. We had a quick look around and just told her 'yes, we want it', where do we pay our deposit?

We figured we would try & get 'pre-approved' with those agents because they are very active in the area, so if that house fell through and another one came up, at least they already know you.

So we got lucky and it was ours, because the agents are too lazy to start checking someone else out from scratch....

Bronwyn

Edited February 9, 2007 by Bronwyn

[Marius]

Bronwyn,

Well done, you are already working the system

[ria]

Hi!

Ons is in Mawson Lakes, 4 slk 2 en 1/2 badk 2 leefareas splinternuwe huis, $365 per week. Goeie staatslaerskool, mooi area, 20 minute vd see af en 20 min vd stad af. As iemand n plek soek vir n nag is hulle welkom, hier's alyd n slaapsak en matras beskikbaar!

Lekkerbly,

Ria

PS Ek kry nie die smilies geclick nie !!!

[Guest Bronwyn]

Ek wonder hoe dit met Lourens-hulle gaan? Enigeiemand al iets gehoor?

B