Reccie /Validation trip...but where to go?

[NicF]

No we didn't see the botanic gardens...we went to the Zoo there, saw plenty animals we enjoyed that. Didn't enjoy the drive to get there though......the driving definitely had a negative impact on me. I hate being stuck in a car.

We visited hahndorf (sp?) that was good, again...hated the car journey..... Went to Cleland..... Cried real tears driving there, I was sh*t scared of the sheer drops. Most of the days out were a bit of a drive definitely. But Noarlunga was picture perfect, so quiet, beautiful.

I think we went there because it had everything (except the CBD) nearby, so it was all handy for day to day living- butcher, groceries, parks, beach, docs etc

 

Most suburbs have everything nearby. Glenelg certainly has lots close by. And lots more than Noarlunga as well.

[Guest]

People use their cars a lot here. Even if you use public transport to get to work, you'll still need one for day trips, getting around, shopping and so on. Wherever you choose to settle, be it Adelaide or Perth. There is no getting round it. On a stinking hot day, using public transport for a day out would be my idea of not fun. Also the distances you'd need to travel don't make public transport ideal if you need to catch say a bus, train and bus to get somewhere when a car would get you there quicker and in a bit more comfort. Days out anywhere are going to mean a drive or a hike on public transport. You'll have that problem pretty much everywhere you go.

 

If you want quieter suburbs in the Adelaide area and near a beach too, then somewhere like Port Noarlunga area is probably good for you. Or further south again if you don't have to commute right in to the CBD for work. I know people who live in Maclaren Vale and commute into the CBD. Others live down there but work lovely down there too and only come up to the city once or twice a month.

[jodipodi]

We will have a car, thats for sure, I think I just need more to do in closer proximity if that's possible. I suppose once I've tried somewhere else apart from Noarlunga I'll see if there really was anything slightly more suitable, then again I might realise Noarlunga or Adelaide is where it's at for us.

There's so many factors to consider for the future but I suppose we'll never know until we actually live there. We do need to see if we can try somewhere else to compare though, but would love to make it more of a fun filled holiday this time.

[NicF]

Are you any closer to deciding which city to head to though?

[Marisawright]

Well, our gut Says Adelaide or Perth is where we will end up at the end of it all.....but in all honesty it will be wherever Lee gets a solid job, I guess that's a main decider for anyone really.

 

I've never lived in either, but I've visited both and I'd say, if you're thinking of Perth because it's more modern/up to date than Adelaide, don't bother. In terms of vibe/atmosphere, I'd say they're pretty similar. My niece loved Australia when she came for her gap year and recently got the chance of a job in Perth (she's now 28). She went over there for a visit, pronounced it "dead" and went back to the UK.

 

Don't get me wrong, I really like Adelaide. Perth seemed a bit quiet to me, too, but it is a nice city. However Adelaide also has the advantage that it's not as isolated (it's within driving distance of Melbourne, for instance). Which also means that if you change your mind and want to move cities, it's not quite as painful from Adelaide as it would be from Perth. Once you're in Perth you're really stuck - it will cost you more to move your stuff to (say) Sydney than to move it back to the UK!

 

As for where to visit on this recce - it would be a waste to go to Adelaide again, obviously. Maybe you should visit Perth to see for yourself, but I'd consider another city. Melbourne perhaps? Sydney and Melbourne are both more cosmopolitan than the other Australian cities but Sydney is horrendously expensive. I think Melbourne is still cheaper than Perth. And Victoria is a densely populated state (by Australian standards) with lots to see.

[Guest]

We will have a car, thats for sure, I think I just need more to do in closer proximity if that's possible. I suppose once I've tried somewhere else apart from Noarlunga I'll see if there really was anything slightly more suitable, then again I might realise Noarlunga or Adelaide is where it's at for us.

There's so many factors to consider for the future but I suppose we'll never know until we actually live there. We do need to see if we can try somewhere else to compare though, but would love to make it more of a fun filled holiday this time.

 

I doubt you'll find any suburb so far out having much to do in the way of holiday stuff unless you travel a bit. If living there it would be different of course, but maybe still not masses to do. Depends what you want really. I don't find them appealing for that very reason, not enough going on and too far away from things. I don't want an hour drive each way for a night out in the city or to go see a show at the Entertainment Centre. I feel quite disconnected once I get to Hallet Cove and beyond.

 

Where we are currently is lovely, in Glenelg, it's busy, beach not far away, tram into city close by. Plenty going on for us living here and also if on holiday. Ticks lots of boxes for us. But it's expensive to buy round here and we miss the quieter feel of being in or near the country. So we are moving inland nearer the hills. Less to do as it's a more suburban feel but of course we'll still have access to the city within about 30 mins. And all the day to day life stuff will be on hand. And it's 15 minutes or so down to the beach and Glenelg. So best of both worlds for us. Also we are a family that goes out and about a fair bit, so we are ok wIth using the car to get places. We are taking a hike up Waterfall Gully to amount Lofty over the hols, heading to Cleland, going to see a footy game and just the usual off to the park to play cricket or kick a footy and hit the swimming pool.

 

Suburban sprawl is massive. Adelaide is not alone in that. Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, they all experience it. It was something that hit me when I first visited years back and it keeps on growing. People say Adelaide but they live down in Port Noarlunga or Seaford. That's miles from Adelaide itself and the city suburbs. Those are the southern suburbs and they sprawl a long way.

 

If you want beachside living or to be within 20 minutes walk of one, you may need to compromise on where you live and that could be quite a long way out unless you have deep pockets or can live in a smaller house or unit. If you live further out then travel to get anywhere is going to mostly be by car. That is why being on the tram line these past 6 months has been fab. Never needed to drive the car into the city during the day, we tend to take it in the evening though when we go out. And being close to a fab beach like Glenelg has been great. We don't go out down to the bars and cafés in Mosely Sq much, more when we have family or friends visiting. But it always feels like there is stuff going on and there are people out and about. Also things like New Years are a bit more vibrant here. Plus all the festivals and stuff they have going on through the year. I also like that Jetty Road is a shopping street and it's only when you get nearer the beach it fills up more with bars and cafés.

 

I really don't think you saw much of Adelaide or what it has to offer when you were here which is a shame. I've been really happy her the past 6 months and there has been loads on. Up in the hills, Stirling, Aldgate, lovely places, Mounty Lofty for hiking. Some fab reservations to wander through. Plus all the things we've done in the city. Even went to Port Noarlunga beach for the day

 

If you go to Perth hopefully you'll find an area more tourist based and can have a better holiday experience. But just remember the reality of living somewhere isn't a holiday and again, if you were living there you may find yourself miles from the city itself in a suburb like Noarlunga here in Adelaide. You have to build a life round it, plenty of people do but it's still the same as anywhere, work, pay bills, do day to day life stuff.

 

Whichever you decide on, both are remote and are self contained and so within an hour or so of either place, will be everything you'll have to keep you occupied for your life there. Sure a bit going on beyond that out in the small towns but the city and it's suburbs will be pretty much it. Make sure you can live with that. I found it really strange to drive for an hour and only then reach the end of the suburban sprawl and then to hit an open road where you drive for 5 hours and only use the indicator once to make a left turn at some remote town to head to the next remote town. Seriously, we used the indicator once between leaving the suburbs down south behind and entering our destinations 'Welcome to...' sign.

[Paul1Perth]

If you are coming for a Holiday and a reccie trip but really want to live in Perth it would make sense to come here and have a look. We do the usual family things (for Perth that is) go to the beach, park with free barbies is next to our local beach but there are loads with that facility up and down the coast.

 

We live quite close to Hillary's marina too. That's a nice place to visit for a meal or pint or just have a look round the shops. Fremantle is nice for a visit. Perth has a great zoo, not been for years but it's good.

 

Depends what time of year you are coming but in the summer there are several places you get free music concerts in parks and outdoor movies is always good. Kings Park is worth a visit and you can have a look round Perth City in the same day. Some fantastic views from Kings Park.

 

I've visited Adelaide a few times on work trips and I like Perth better. Nothing wrong with Adelaide, I could have easily settled there.

 

If you just want a holiday though and want to see some of the East Coast then I don't think you can beat Sydney. You can get round on public transport pretty well, there are lots of famous beaches to pick from, you don't need to spend a lot to get round. Just too many nice places to suggest. If we all had unlimited funds it would be great wouldn't it. I love the sunshine Coast and could easily spend a month in Noosa, just chilling.

[Paul1Perth]

Maybe we just felt behind the times with it being further from the centre, goodness knows if that even makes sense... You're right though, there's plenty of sights and people around here that seem behind the times. Maybe it's simply because the Australian life and people are so laid back....but that's a good thing so really I'm contradicting a lot of what I say....we do want slow paced living, peace and quiet, but I would also like to have a beach and a CBD within half an hour of me.

Yes the fresh food market!!! Why couldn't we find it!!? We got to rundle mall but goodness knows why we couldn't find the main part of it....is it indoors? We just lost our bearing I guess....found the silver piggies though haha.

 

So, people are mentioning water parks....the kids,would live that....so, if we go to Perth and check it out-are there any there??

 

Yep. Nowhere near as big as the Gold Coast but we've taken the kids to adventure world when they were younger and we had great days out. There is heaps to do just for a day. There are some better rides there now than when we visited so I'm sure they've improved it. The water rides are pretty good and we are all good swimmers so we enjoyed the pool as much as anything. You need plenty of water around you in Perth I reckon. That's why we just like going to the beach so much. Great beaches, close to the City and lots to choose from. Cheap day out that can be too.

 

I see you mention how expensive Perth is but if the kids love the beach you don't need to spend a fortune to keep them entertained. If you are looking for cheaper foods too there are kebab shops, food halls, maccas, Hungry Jacks and a lot of cheaper places to eat. You don't have to go to expensive restaurants. I can recommend Peters by the sea at Scarborough for a good kebab lol. Great beach too with some decent waves, pays to be a competent swimmer at Scarborough though.

[Paul1Perth]

I was really looking forward to the Market too....there was a few small fruit and veg stalls in rundlemail mall area and I literally said to Lee....no way this can't be it....?! Lol

Lol

Its funny @Mattw because all the job adverts Lee get at the minute are in Brissy....and the house prices seem canny reasonable but don't you have to be near the centre for jobs

..meaning away from the beach?.... I must must be walking distance from a beach, even if it's a 20 minute walk. It's my most important factor because it's what we do when the sun comes out here....I pack the sarnies, juice, biscuits and just sit there til it's too cold...the kids entertain themselves.

Oooooo I so wish I had the money to do say 10 days at each....winning lottery numbers anyone?!

 

Brisbane is a nice City but there are no beaches close to the City centre. There's the man made one along South Bank but it's nothing like being at a real beach. Loads to choose from in Perth, North and South.

[Paul1Perth]

No we didn't see the botanic gardens...we went to the Zoo there, saw plenty animals we enjoyed that. Didn't enjoy the drive to get there though......the driving definitely had a negative impact on me. I hate being stuck in a car.

We visited hahndorf (sp?) that was good, again...hated the car journey..... Went to Cleland..... Cried real tears driving there, I was sh*t scared of the sheer drops. Most of the days out were a bit of a drive definitely. But Noarlunga was picture perfect, so quiet, beautiful.

I think we went there because it had everything (except the CBD) nearby, so it was all handy for day to day living- butcher, groceries, parks, beach, docs etc

 

Just had a look on Google maps where Noarlunga is and it's way out of Adelaide. No wonder you had to spend lots of time in the car. If you come to Perth I wouldn't stay that far out, you wouldn't get a feeling for the City and I think you maybe got a strange impression of Adelaide because of the distance. People would travel from Perth that distance for a weekend away.

[Guest]

Brisbane is a nice City but there are no beaches close to the City centre. There's the man made one along South Bank but it's nothing like being at a real beach. Loads to choose from in Perth, North and South.

 

Stradbroke island is a quick ferry away ($10) and smashes any beach in Perth :wink:

[Paul1Perth]

Stradbroke island is a quick ferry away ($10) and smashes any beach in Perth :wink:

Quick ferry ride away from where though? Doesn't look that close to the City. Never been, must put it on my list to try when I'm next in Bris. If the beaches are better than Perth they must be awesome.

[jodipodi]

Thanks for all the great replies, it's nice to hear from those who actually live there and get the reality hit from the positives and negatives. Thanks for the honesty Snifter, you obviously love Adelaide and rightly so but still agree we were too far out, what a shame we didn't get the full whammy Adelaide experience... We still had a lovely time though.

I think I'm swaying towards trying Perth, if just to say we've compared some things. The lack of beaches near main Brissy put me off.....maybe ok for a holiday though, but I don't know if I want to kill two birds and try out the reality of living there....so maybe beach holiday in Brissy might be pointless if we want to do that. I'm still humming and haaing over it though as it seems every day Lee gets 5-6 emails about potential jobs. I know I don't fancy Sydney though.

 

When we looked at suburbs in Perth we whittled it down to Joondalup, but is this a good accessible area to be near whatevers going on?

As for expense I'm just really going off what people have said about Perth...I have no idea xx

[Paul1Perth]

Thanks for all the great replies, it's nice to hear from those who actually live there and get the reality hit from the positives and negatives. Thanks for the honesty Snifter, you obviously love Adelaide and rightly so but still agree we were too far out, what a shame we didn't get the full whammy Adelaide experience... We still had a lovely time though.

I think I'm swaying towards trying Perth, if just to say we've compared some things. The lack of beaches near main Brissy put me off.....maybe ok for a holiday though, but I don't know if I want to kill two birds and try out the reality of living there....so maybe beach holiday in Brissy might be pointless if we want to do that. I'm still humming and haaing over it though as it seems every day Lee gets 5-6 emails about potential jobs. I know I don't fancy Sydney though.

 

When we looked at suburbs in Perth we whittled it down to Joondalup, but is this a good accessible area to be near whatevers going on?

As for expense I'm just really going off what people have said about Perth...I have no idea xx

 

We live pretty close to Joondalup. There are some great beachside suburbs close by, closer to the beach you want to be the more expensive as a general rule. Lovely beaches along that stretch of coastline, sand dunes at the back of them and plenty of parks. Bike paths all along the Coast there too, beautiful ride from Hillarys to Burns Beach without having to go on a road if you don't fancy it. Great for kids. Not too far to Hillary's and Joondalup itself has more going on each year. It has a few pubs and clubs, markets, cinemas, shopping centres and the wineries are 20 mins away.

 

Good choice.:cool:

[Guest]

Adelaide is lovely. Doesn't suit everyone. I don't love it though. It's not my dream place or ideal location. In some ways I prefer where we lived back in Bristol in the UK. It's different, living overseas anywhere is. It's not horrible, it's got plenty to keep us busy and I'm happy to call it home. I'd be just as happy in the UK or The Netherlands though. I don't have a big 'it's not all I thought it would be' feeling (it's exactly how I thought it would be lol) nor do I feel homesick at all so I can just get on with living.

[Guest]

Also bear in mind that it's very easy to travel between the east coast cities cheaply for weekenders. Perth is very isolated. I love visiting Sydney and Melbourne. Been to both multiple times this year. I definitely wouldn't be able to if living in Perth

[Guest Guest 47403]

If living close to the beach is a must Jodie as you've already done Adelaide, I'd be looking at Perth next time around.

[Jlew]

We did a reccie trip 2 years ago, but the purpose of our trip was to see if we wanted to move or not. I've always been keen, but my family wanted to have a look first which was undertandable. The trip confirmed we wanted to move. We're now trudging our way through the skills assessment and visa process which is taking some time. We had planned to get the visa sorted, then head out on a trip to validate, but when we worked out the numbers, decided best to put that money towards the move. Certainly an expensive business all this .

 

reccie trip is a great idea, but if you've already decided you're going, that money would go along way towards the actual move.

[jodipodi]

If living close to the beach is a must Jodie as you've already done Adelaide, I'd be looking at Perth next time around.

It definitely is Baz....because we all love the beach and it's so easy to just sit and chill after the school/work day. Me mam used to pick us up when we were kids and we'd spend the day there til it got cold...them were the day....and the same for my kids, although we live a bit further so don't get there quote as much as when I was a kid....probably reminiscing too much but it is free, relaxing and the kids love it.

Can you get 'anywhere' from Perth?.... People must go on day trips surely it can't be that isolated is it?......

[jodipodi]

We did a reccie trip 2 years ago, but the purpose of our trip was to see if we wanted to move or not. I've always been keen, but my family wanted to have a look first which was undertandable. The trip confirmed we wanted to move. We're now trudging our way through the skills assessment and visa process which is taking some time. We had planned to get the visa sorted, then head out on a trip to validate, but when we worked out the numbers, decided best to put that money towards the move. Certainly an expensive business all this .

 

reccie trip is a great idea, but if you've already decided you're going, that money would go along way towards the actual move.

We wouldn't do another reccie if we didn't have to validate but as we are likely to need to do that next year then it's a must unfortunately. X

[Guest Guest 47403]

It definitely is Baz....because we all love the beach and it's so easy to just sit and chill after the school/work day. Me mam used to pick us up when we were kids and we'd spend the day there til it got cold...them were the day....and the same for my kids, although we live a bit further so don't get there quote as much as when I was a kid....probably reminiscing too much but it is free, relaxing and the kids love it.

Can you get 'anywhere' from Perth?.... People must go on day trips surely it can't be that isolated is it?......

 

They'll be plenty to do as day trips from Perth, I think when people say isolated it's more on a global scale, bottler put up some lovely pics the other day of a lake she was visiting it's less than 2 hrs from perth free parking, safe swimming, bbq's, canoe hire, track around the lake to bike/walk on with a campsite looked lovely, they'll be stacks of stuff like that within easy reach for day trips.

[jodipodi]

I'm really looking forward to coming back to Oz.....I just really really REALLY hope we get our visas....and I really hope the weather's good for us.....probably not though, if they're granted by the end of uk summer it'll likely be oz winter by the time we get there. I'll still be wearing a cheesy grin though :wink: