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Where to settle? Adelaide or Sydney


LindaandPaul

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I know right? How many different answers do I want? Whilst I am sure it is a matter of opinion I really would welcome some insight.

We are from Joburg and the city and the traffic and the general crowds (and aggressiveness) is something we will not miss when we get the go ahead to move. At present I spend a minimum of 2.5 to 3 hours commuting every day.

My husband Paul is doing his practical assessment this Tuesday and after we get the results (4-6 weeks) we will really need to decide where we want to go...

Adelaide appealed to me because I would love to live somewhere quieter. I do worry about us getting work (plumber and social worker) and we have no contacts in Adelaide.

In Sydney we have family, friends and even Aussie friends (one of whom is a plumber).

Any advice which will help us make the decision easier?

What worries me about Sydney is the busy-ness and the big city life... and I hear it is expensive... maybe relative to your earning capacity too..

Cheers,

Linda

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Hi Linda

My advice would be not to make your decision to quickly. It is difficult enough to make a decision on where to settle without actually being there. So if it is at all possible for you guys, why don't you plan to spend a few weeks in each city before you make the final decision. Have a feel for the place first. Experience the people, culture, quietness, job availability, transport, weather, crows, or flying foxes, and other day-to-day things a bit before you settle. You might for example think Adelaide quieter, and idyllic, but when you get there you find that you do not like the weather, or the crows in your garden (lol) or something like that.

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That is a very good idea. I hope that we qualify for the 189 so we don't have to go the state dependent visa route. Would be so nice to explore a little...

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When you are settling, at first, every contact, every bit of assistance, will make your life easier, so my suggestion is go for Sydney, you have friends there and one that is a plumber, absolute bonus. Give it a try, there is nothing that says you have to stay there all of your life. Perhaps then you can visit Adelaide at a later stage and once you have that "must have" Australian work experience, you can move, if you prefer Adelaide.

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Normally I would say go where the work is, however I can't see any major problems with your occupations of plumber and social worker ( you should get work in most areas)....other than licensing for a plumber and you will both have similar requirements to get your qualifications assessed and registration/licensing.

However, having family and friends in Sydney...and an Australian plumber friend to boot, makes Sydney the more sensible option in terms of support and someone in the industry who might have contacts to jobs.

I haven't lived in Sydney, but if it works the same as most major centres in Australia, the closer you live to the city centre the more expensive rents are and the further you live from the city, the more reasonable the rents.

I'm sure you could find somewhere that was far enough away to not feel like you were living in the city, but close enough to commute.....

The urban area has around 70 harbour and ocean beaches, including the famous Bondi Beach. Sydney's urban area covers 1,687 km2 (651 sq mi) as of 2001.[24] The Sydney Statistical Division, used for census data, is the unofficial metropolitan area[25] and covers 12,145 km2 (4,689 sq mi).[26] This area includes the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, and national parks and other unurbanised land.

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I am going to say Adelaide if you are looking for a good wholesome city to raise children. Not that I have ever been there but my aunt and uncle immigrated there 2 years ago with their young childern and they absolutely love it! Aparently it was voted by Australians as the best city to live in and is also known as the city of churches. They have been all over Australia and said that in terms of raising their childern right, they will only ever live there. But if it were my own personal choice then Sydney would win my favour. It depends on the lifestyle you intend to live.

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We were in Adelaide in December last year. It was amazing so beautiful and we intend to settle there but our main reason for that is my BIL and his partner are there so we will have family support. If it wasn't for that who know we may have picked another city ( we still might have to we will have to see our visa). To sum up Adelaide is wonderful, quiet, calm, chilled but I agree with others that say go where u have support it will come in handy and even if you need to do to a specific state for visa reasons its only a few years and then you can move.

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I'd go with Mara on this as well. Have never been to Adelaide, but always liked the sound of it, sounds like a great place and was a place we considered.

I'd never been to Australia before and I arrived in Sydney about 10 days ago. We chose it as there are more jobs here in my line (and more people looking I guess!), It's not that hectic to live in unless of course you are in the city centre, so depends where you stay. If you stay far from work the commute will get you and that will probably be hectic, but there are places around that have natures reserves etc which are quieter. And that's exactly where your friends and family can help guide you. So I would say go for Sydney with the friends and family, it is expensive :cry: , but the advice and friendship from family will be invaluable and will help you make less costly mistakes when settling in. Sydney is a beautiful city, the sight of coming in to land took my breath away, and walking about it's even better than from the air. Of course it's still shiny and new and will wear off, but that's my impression now.

Edited by mountainman
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Hi there,

We live in Sydney and I have to tell you I find it completely relaxed and laid back compared to Joburg! Granted I do not work, so there is no nasty commute for me, and we live in a fairly quiet suburb, so traffic is a non issue, but still, the aggressiveness you find in Jhb will not be easily found here. Sydney is a huge city, and if you live in the burbs you really can find the quiet life you are after. Unfortunately traffic going into the city is a major issue, so living in close proximity to work does help, but I see no reason why you both couldn't find jobs in areas of Sydney that do not require going into the city. I have heard that Adelaide is wonderful for families and I am interested in checking it out too, but I find Sydney pretty awesome for families, with many events aimed at and catered for young children. There is always an abundance of things for us to do with our kids. This city offers something for everyone! As previous posters have said, having friends, family and someone who is a plumber will go a long way in helping you to settle. Oh and yes, Sydney is expensive, most noticeably on property. I think groceries and other living costs are not far off other cities, if not the same. But property is horrendous. Again though, it's area dependent, and I have been told salaries are higher in Sydney (though I cannot confirm this). You have a big decision to make! Good luck with it all.

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thanks for the input everyone, it is something I really value right now.

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if the big city and buzyness are what you want to get away from, i would say adelaide

adelaide is a very charming city. its got everything you need but in smaller 'doses' than the other aussie cities. it really is more a big town than a city. something like if cape town was the size of bloemfontein, if that makes sense!

sydney is big and busy - like joburg but not 'aggressive' (sydney is the 'love of my life'- after my wife that is...)

however i would say where you can find the best work

i would also not take the fact that you have family and friends for granted - that is if you think they would be 'active' in your lifes - not point if you will see them once in 6 months because they live in the other side of sydney

i also dont think you would struggle with work - i think. sydney should give you more options for work i think. but i think generally your 'quality of life' would be lower as you will have to earn megabucks

e

Edited by Emille
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Team Sydney here. Family, friends and work contact (the plumber) will soften the landing for you guys, and you are already exposed to the big city life so its not like you are going backwards anyway. I guess what I am trying to say is maybe enter the swimming pool at the shallow first.

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good advice jet1 - but on condition the plumber 'can help' / wants to help

i have family in perth - good thing that was not the reason we moved here - we see them once a year...

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Hey there, can't tell you anything about Sydney or Adelaide but the Sunshine Coast is awesome and relaxed and full of fun things to do. I know you probably won't move here but it was worth a try. :P

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Adelaide without a question. I travel to Sydney quite often for work purposes and feel like kissing the gound (ala pope style) when I land back in Adelaide.

Cheers

Jakes

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Agree with Mara - having a support network helps soften the landing and the adjustment. We arrived and settled in Brisbane and have found it difficult not having a support network around.

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Well..

I have lived in both cities, but Adelaide gets my vote by a mile, but here is my personal experience with both..

Sydney

I spent 1.5 years in Sydney and was first drawn to the city because of the work opportunities (got offered a job before moving over, but I did already have PR), I had a very close friend there and family. We ended up settling where we could afford at the time (about $550pw), about 40km from the city. Although a nice suburb, I spent 3.5 hours a day commuting. Its all good saying to yourself that you can read a book or browse the internet on your commute, but I soon realised that was over 70 hours a month I spent away from my family. My best friend lived about 45mins away from us, but because I spent the weeks slaving in the traffic, when the weekend came I had to catch up on all the things i couldn’t really do in the week (never had any time), which then I had to do over weekends.. I only saw him a handful of times.

Another thing I found with Sydney is because you generally don’t drive to work in the city (tolls, traffic, parking), once your bus / train drops you off in the city, you pretty much stuck there all day. You cant just quickly go home to get something, or go see you childs sports game / concert during the week (without taking a days annual leave), or quickly hop in your car and do a few things in the area.

Also, we really love enjoying the simple things in life, such as going down to the beach, doing some tourist things etc...but our trips to the beaches in Sydney were never truly relaxed as it would take you 40mins to get to the beach, then you had tolls and parking to contend with.

After 1.5 years of this, I decided to make a change asap (while our roots weren’t firmly in the ground), and although I had never visited Adelaide prior to moving, the numbers and everything just made sense. Cant believe I never considered it over Sydney when making the big move from Cape Town. The day the penny dropped, is the day I went to my boss and asked for an interstate transfer, got the thumbs up a week later, then moved to Adelaide about 4 weeks later.

Adelaide

Since we arrived in Adelaide, it has been a breath of fresh air and our whole family has literally felt the tension and stress lifting from us. We stay in nice big house on the hill side which is only 9km from the city. The rental we paying per week is considered high ($390pw), but coming from Sydney we didn’t. We live about 5km from the beach, so its easy for us to spend an evening on the beach while the sun goes down during the week or whenever we feel like going. Parking is never a problem and generally you can park on the beach front.

I cycle to work every day (by choice), which takes me 20mins. A drive in the car would be about 12mins. I always get to work very relaxed. Everyday im home before 5pm, so I get to spend time with the family (two young kids). I am able to do this things that I could normally only do on the weekend, which I can now do in the week after work (take kids to park or beach, meet friends, cut the lawn, peruse hobbies).

Although Adelaide doesn’t have the hustle and bustle or nightlife as Sydney does, I personally find that it has more than enough to keep us busy for a long time. We have been in Adelaide for 7 months and haven’t really taken advantage of what there is to offer (mainly due to having young kids).

By simply moving to Adelaide, I get 60 additional hours a week with my family, perusing hobbies etc. Time is precious and you can never get it back.. once its gone, its gone.

Since moving to Adelaide, I have been back to Sydney twice for work and have always loved my visits. Obviously, the circumstances are a little difference as I don’t have my family with me and im staying in an nice apartment overlooking The Harbour Bridge and the Harbour. I can walk to the office in 5mins, its great! But in reality, there is no way our family would ever be able to live like that in Sydney.

All the best with your decision 

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Wow Robbie, you make a good pitch. Sounds like what we are looking for too...

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I live in Adelaide and I need my toilet fixed. Just saying...

Laughed out loud when I read this! haha!

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I live in Adelaide and we LOVE it here! We have discussed it so often and can't see ourselves just moving anywhere else.. We love the laid-back lifestyle we have here. Traffic is nothing compared to Jhb! We have more than enough to do here with our 3 little girls and most of it is free :D

We were lucky - we got PR and then hubby found a job before we moved over..

We stay in a very nice area and rent is affordable. Our city is beautifull and our beaches amazing!

BUT and this is a big BUT - work is a problem.. I am not sure if it's in all occupations, but the Adelaide job market has been dead for the last few months.. My brother and his family immigrated to Aus and they stayed with us for 3months. In those 3 months he had only 2 job interviews after masses of applications (even applying for anything sightly related to his field and on sub-junior levels). He is in IT. 1 was a Perm position in Melb, the other a 6mnth contract (with no guarantee for an extention) in Adelaide..

Long story short, they moved to Melbourne :( They are paying a huge amount on rent, really struggled to find a house that was decent, and complain about the insane traffic..

My friend got retrenched last year October, and although she has had 2 years Aus experience in her occupation, she could not find a job! She just started 2 weeks ago in a contract position.. I am hoping that her contract will be extended or that she will be made permanent..

If you can afford to survive without an income for at least 6 -9 months, then I would say come to Adelaide. You might be lucky and find a job immediately, then all will be good. The support of family and friends in the beginning really helps a lot. In the end you need to work to be able to pay bills. Doesn't help being in our beautiful city and not be able to work..

Alternatively, stay with friends/family in Sydney initially and apply for positions in Adelaide (you can fly in for interviews). Then you can settle here once you have secured employment?

Hope I have not confused you more.. Good luck with the move, regardless of where you settle, just being in Aus is amazing!

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Adelaide sounds just like the type of city that we would like to live in and I was quite happy when I discovered that they were the only state sponsoring my occupation! However I have read quite a few posts now about how people seem to battle to find work. It seems to be mainly in IT although I can't be sure. Does anyone know if it's difficult to find work in trades, especially as a diesel mechanic/fitter (light and heavy machinery) or even as an agricultural mechanic? There seem to be a reasonable number of jobs advertised on Seek however there may be many applicants too!?

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Some people find work straight away while others seem to battle. Whether its easier in other states, Im not sure. But if you land a good job here, you will absolutely love it.

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Some people find work straight away while others seem to battle. Whether its easier in other states, Im not sure. But if you land a good job here, you will absolutely love it.

Thanks Springjock, cant wait to move to Adelaide...
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