The Adelaide vibe

[Red Rose]

Adelaide is the only major Australian city I haven’t visited.  Those that have spent time there, does it have a distinctive vibe different to the likes of Sydney,  Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth? 

 

[Marisawright]

Definitely different.  Although it's a capital city, it has a very "small town" feel IMO.   Good restaurants and cafés, good cultural activities, but I've known people move there and find it difficult to find jobs and make friends.

[Bulya]

Insularity.  Think about how they can beat the Vic’s (Mexicans) at anything.  Pretty much ignore the rest of Australia 

[Jon the Hat]

I have only visited, but it seemed like a Large country town to me.

[rammygirl]

Yes it is a small city.  A relaxed vibe.  Wineries and beaches within half an hour of the city and beyond. A vibrant festival scene and a four season climate.  Good food and arts culture.  Plenty of music gigs for all tastes, not forgetting WOMAD.  

Agree it can be insular and hard to break into sometimes but I love it and now call it home.

Tends to be the butt of jokes but has a sense of humour......

 

[Bulya]

19 minutes ago, rammygirl said:

Yes it is a small city.  A relaxed vibe.  Wineries and beaches within half an hour of the city and beyond. A vibrant festival scene and a four season climate.  Good food and arts culture.  Plenty of music gigs for all tastes, not forgetting WOMAD.  

Agree it can be insular and hard to break into sometimes but I love it and now call it home.

Tends to be the butt of jokes but has a sense of humour......

 

Ex Croweaters call it 30/30.  30 mins and 30 years behind the rest of Australia 

[Red Rose]

I’ve heard it being said that Adelaide is Australia’s most English or British feeling city 

https://blogs.fco.gov.uk/paulmadden/2011/07/01/adelaide-australias-most-english-city/

Would you agree with that? 

[Bulya]

31 minutes ago, Red Rose said:

I’ve heard it being said that Adelaide is Australia’s most English or British feeling city 

https://blogs.fco.gov.uk/paulmadden/2011/07/01/adelaide-australias-most-english-city/

Would you agree with that? 

No.  Launceston for one felt more British 

[Marisawright]

2 hours ago, Red Rose said:

I’ve heard it being said that Adelaide is Australia’s most English or British feeling city 

https://blogs.fco.gov.uk/paulmadden/2011/07/01/adelaide-australias-most-english-city/

Would you agree with that? 

I don't think so.   I think the accents can make it sound more British.  I was living in country Victoria when I used to visit, and by contrast to the strong country twang, the Adelaidians sounded positively English.

[Skani]

3 hours ago, Red Rose said:

I’ve heard it being said that Adelaide is Australia’s most English or British feeling city 

https://blogs.fco.gov.uk/paulmadden/2011/07/01/adelaide-australias-most-english-city/

Would you agree with that? 

No, definitely Hobart  - speaking as someone who has lived here most of my life  but also spent 6 years in Adelaide.  It is probably due to its more temperate climate (much cooler than Adelaide, occasionally snow down to sea level),  being considerably further south, so having longer summer and shorter winter daylight hours....and much less non-British migration than Adelaide.

Edited July 4, 2019 by Skani

[Amber Snowball]

8 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I don't think so.   I think the accents can make it sound more British.  I was living in country Victoria when I used to visit, and by contrast to the strong country twang, the Adelaidians sounded positively English.

One of the blokes clearing the last of the rubbish from my house in Australia before I moved asked me “was I going home?” “Yes” I said. “Where’s that? South Australia?” He asked.”No” I replied. “Oh, you sound English, so I thought you must be from South Australia “ , my face must have been a picture!

[Chip1759]

Cold in winter! Great in summer! Enough said! And I’m a Pom! Cold!

[SteveandKirsty]

We are newbies to Adelaide having been here three months now, and I (Steve) have been to every capital city of Australia and every state including Canberra, where a distant relative of Kirsty's was actually one of the original settlers of.

Adelaide is certainly worth a visit and yes, in a number of ways it does have an English/British feel to it but that is deliberate given it was planned by Colonel Light as a British colony.... The English style cathedral and bells in the city centre can make it feel a home from home.  Yes there is a strong contribution from other countries and cultures too, notably more German than anywhere else in Australia but it has that feel about it and even Bill Bryson described it as "forever Sussex" in his book.

The thing with Australia is that every State and capital city is different.

All the rest of the comments on Adelaide above I pretty much agree with.  I have lived and worked in Melbourne and Cairns, albeit 20 years ago and whether it is that I am in my 40's now rather than 20's making a difference, but I met people far easier there than I have here, so far at least anyway and the job situation is now starting to worry me. I have done and continue to do everything I can - applying for jobs I see, contacting agencies - who so far have bluffed me off or simply given me an honest "no", putting my CV through doors, trying word of mouth through the limited number of people I/we do know here but all to little avail so far.  What I have learnt is that many places in different industries are looking to decrease their staff rather than increase which doesn't bode well.  We cannot move to another state as we are on SN PR and the SA Immigration have already shut me down when I asked the question they didn't want to hear, largely owing to Kirsty being the named applicant and she has a job.  When I attended the jobs seminar the state government put on they as good as admitted that the job situation for newcomers is hardly great, and there were others there from countries such as India, Iran and Egypt who have been unemployed since their arrival over 8 or 9 months ago. Not good.

Kirsty on the other hand settled into the job she got soon after we arrived very well, and is making friends and contacts, albeit slowly and she has noted how inefficient South Australia appears to be in many ways.  Note SA rather than the country itself as we are both convinced that there are some things (will not bore with details) that are not the case in places like Sydney or states such as Victoria.

And yes, 12'c in winter feels every bit of it given that the houses in SA are geared up for the 40'c heat of summer, almost forgetting that a third of the year can get quite chilly...

 

[Red Rose]

Sorry to hear that Steve. How incredibly frustrating and soul destroying. You’re not the first to talk about the insularity of the job market there. It puts me off the idea of even considering  ever moving to Adelaide. 

[starlight7]

I love Adelaide but it does have its problems with employment and the economy there, sadly. I feel a trip coming on, time I visited it again. One of those places where you feel relaxed and happy.

[Jessica Berry]

20 hours ago, SteveandKirsty said:

When I attended the jobs seminar the state government put on they as good as admitted that the job situation for newcomers is hardly great, and there were others there from countries such as India, Iran and Egypt who have been unemployed since their arrival over 8 or 9 months ago. Not good

In my experience there are often other reasons certain groups of people are struggling to find work.

[Jessica Berry]

21 hours ago, SteveandKirsty said:

All the rest of the comments on Adelaide above I pretty much agree with.  I have lived and worked in Melbourne and Cairns, albeit 20 years ago and whether it is that I am in my 40's now rather than 20's making a difference, but I met people far easier there than I have here, so far at least anyway and the job situation is now starting to worry me. I have done and continue to do everything I can - applying for jobs I see, contacting agencies - who so far have bluffed me off or simply given me an honest "no", putting my CV through doors, trying word of mouth through the limited number of people I/we do know here but all to little avail so far.  What I have learnt is that many places in different industries are looking to decrease their staff rather than increase which doesn't bode well.  We cannot move to another state as we are on SN PR and the SA Immigration have already shut me down when I asked the question they didn't want to hear, largely owing to Kirsty being the named applicant and she has a job.  When I attended the jobs seminar the state government put on they as good as admitted that the job situation for newcomers is hardly great, and there were others there from countries such as India, Iran and Egypt who have been unemployed since their arrival over 8 or 9 months ago. Not good.

Kirsty on the other hand settled into the job she got soon after we arrived very well, and is making friends and contacts, albeit slowly and she has noted how inefficient South Australia appears to be in many ways.  Note SA rather than the country itself as we are both convinced that there are some things (will not bore with details) that are not the case in places like Sydney or states such as Victoria.

I thought I would re-post a thread that I have posted in 2013 and 2015!  The unemployment and under employment issues in Adelaide/SA are well documented in the press, on this site and in the past on Poms in Adelaide.  SA currently has the third highest unemployment in Australia, which is quite good at the moment, usually we are number 1 or 2!  You did multiple reccies and did your research so you were expecting it to take a while.  In my experience, 3 months of job seeking is not unusual and up to 6 months I wouldn't be panicking, this is perhaps why SA Immigration have already shut you down.  They are also aware that some migrants use SA as an easier option to get into Australia and then try to move elsewhere very quickly by saying they are unable to find work without giving it sufficient time.  Kirsty has picked up work quickly so there is work out there, but this doesn't apply to everyone.  I would also add that sometimes new arrivals can be harming their chances of finding work in various ways which they are not aware of because perhaps these things don't apply back in the UK.

 

[Bulya]

I’m surrounded by ex South Australians.  Actually one myself 

[llessur]

There are also some positive signs starting to emerge in the South Australian economy as manufacturing starts to pick up in such areas as solar panels and batteries, electric vehicles etc, new renewable energy projects continue to be approved and come online, tourism numbers are increasing healthily, mining is starting to pick up, ship and submarine building is about to boom with the major new federal contracts being awarded to SA, the medical research precinct on North Terrace is due to be expanded with the new SAHMRI 2 building, the film, games and visual effects industry is booming with major companies such as Rising Sun Pictures, Sony and Technicolor opening offices and the new Mortal Kombat film to be produced here and the Australian Space Agency HQ opening in Adelaide as part of Australia's first creation and innovation neighbourhood at Lot 14 etc etc.

It's not all doom and gloom job-wise in SA and, arguably, we're at a turning point with the economy shifting nicely towards 21st century industries. I would expect/hope that things continue to shift in this 

We don't have the same expansive job markets as Melbourne and Sydney but we are also about a quarter of their size population-wise.

I'd maintain that the work is out there, but it often comes in the form of temporary and contract roles. Applying for full-time permanent positions via Seek etc didn't work out for my wife and I. We both undertook a number of short-term contracts, sometimes not completely aligned with our previous work, to get into the full-time permanent positions we are in today. A lot of the time the contract roles will either lead directly to a permanent role, or they will allow you to access the internally advertised roles within the organisation you are working for. Once you're in at any level, it's a lot easier to get your application seen.

Edited July 19, 2019 by llessur

[SteveandKirsty]

5 minutes ago, llessur said:

I'd maintain that the work is out there, but it often comes in the form of temporary and contract roles. Applying for full-time permanent positions via Seek etc didn't work out for my wife and I. We both undertook a number of short-term contracts, sometimes not completely aligned with our previous work, to get into the full-time permanent positions we are in today. A lot of the time the contract roles will either lead directly to a permanent role, or they will allow you to access the internally advertised roles within the organisation you are working for. Once you're in at any level, it's a lot easier to get your application seen.

Agree with that and over the past three weeks I changed my strategy towards this and have applied for various roles in various industries. 

[llessur]

Good plan Steve - definitely get in and meet with some recruitment consultants directly. Once they've seen your face and you've established a relationship you might be surprised at how quickly they find you a role. My first couple of roles in Adelaide were not really directly related to what I had done in the UK and were a bit of a step down. However, they really helped me a get some Adelaide-based experience on my CV (which I think really helps, especially for new migrants), helped me get a local referee (they are very much in to references here - I've seen colleagues at work have 30 minute phone conversations with job applicants' referees) and there's always a bit of 'artistic leeway' in to how you can present that job on your CV when you apply for the next one (i.e. keep the bits that do align with the job you're applying for and drop the rest). If nothing else it will get you out of the house and give you a bit of beer money.

Have you considered trying to get into one of the universities? They all have quite active media/marketing departments. Getting an unrelated contract role within a uni would make it much easier to apply and get your application considered. There are also a good chunk of roles which are advertised only internally...

[SteveandKirsty]

27 minutes ago, Jessica Berry said:

I I wouldn't be panicking, this is perhaps why SA Immigration have already shut you down.  They are also aware that some migrants use SA as an easier option to get into Australia and then try to move elsewhere very quickly by saying they are unable to find work without giving it sufficient time.  

 

Yes, of course - plus other states have now tightened up considerably. 

The question was initially asked by a guy from Iran at the seminar, he said he had been searching for work (in, I think, IT) for eight months and had found little and said he had a job offer in Sydney.  I then counter asked the question, to cross check the reply.  I do not doubt that they hear it all the time, yes.

Other than perhaps WA, we would not be interested in moving interstate anyway.  

Onwards and upwards.

[SteveandKirsty]

1 minute ago, llessur said:

 

Have you considered trying to get into one of the universities? They all have quite active media/marketing departments. Getting an unrelated contract role within a uni would make it much easier to apply and get your application considered. There are also a good chunk of roles which are advertised only internally...

I did apply to the University of Adelaide, in such a role yes which was advertised on their website and in the Advertiser.  I did not hear anything though.  But it is an avenue I will continue to look at.

 

 

[Marisawright]

18 hours ago, Red Rose said:

Sorry to hear that Steve. How incredibly frustrating and soul destroying. You’re not the first to talk about the insularity of the job market there. It puts me off the idea of even considering  ever moving to Adelaide. 

The main problem is not the insularity but the overall lack of jobs. When jobs are scarce and applicants are plentiful, there’s bound to be a bias towards locals

[Jessica Berry]

20 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

The main problem is not the insularity but the overall lack of jobs. When jobs are scarce and applicants are plentiful, there’s bound to be a bias towards locals

Exactly. A recent admin job advert a friend applied for received 400 applications and this happens a lot, nothing new in the time I have been in Adelaide.  Some adverts will state at the bottom...due to the volume of applications received only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Again, this is not to say there isn't work here, but it depends what you do, what you are willing to do, attitude, approach etc etc etc.  I applied for a job recently and within 1.5 hours of applying on Seek the company was contacting me to arrange an interview.