Overall best suburbs in Adelaide to live in

[Rosie R]

Hi! It's me again, back with another subjective question!

We are looking at Adelaide in terms of a place to live when we move back to Australia, and I wanted to get your opinions on popular suburbs around the city, and good cafes/pubs/food & drink, preferably in Western areas relatively near beaches.

I am aware that what counts as a 'good' suburb or place to live is highly subjective based on who you are, in my case; a 17-year old, a 15-year old (me) and a 50-year old, but I just wanted to see what you guys think are some good places to look at. 

My mum is an Occupational Therapist who is looking for areas in Adelaide that will be good for jobs in Voc Rehab and similar jobs.

The suburb/area doesn't necessarily have to be ideal for teenagers, as we aren't particularly interested in shopping, clubbing etc just yet. Personally, I would like a place that is accessible to local cafe's and takeaways, somewhere I could hangout with my friends. I've seen that there are trains/tram lines within the city and surrounding areas, so I could always use those to go to museums, pubs, libraries and other public buildings.

Of course, who doesn't love the beach? In an ideal world, we'd want to live somewhere relatively close to beaches (walking or biking distance ideally, but having to drive/use public transport is fine too of course!), whilst also being able to hop in the car or on a bus/train and drive to more urban public places.

Seeing as I am 15, I will be needing to go to a highschool in Adelaide, so a suburb relatively near to a good highschool or with school buses would be great haha

I know this is all really subjective and vague, and entirely dependant to what you look for in life, but basically I'm looking for your personal top picks in places to live in Adelaide that were/are good for you, as well as places that seem to decently cater for a person's needs in most aspects of life (nature, entertainment, jobs, education, food & drink, public transport, recreation).

Any recommendations at all are appreciated! And again, sorry for the subjectivity of the question. 

[Marisawright]

I'm curious why you've decided on Adelaide?  I used to visit often for work and I really like it.  It's so compact and easy to get around compared to Sydney or Melbourne, and of course, much more reasonably priced.

My only reservation is that one of my friends moved there in her fifties from Sydney and she ended up coming back three years later.  She had a lovely apartment in a nice suburb and a good job, but she found it extremely difficult to make friends.  She felt everyone had their established circles and no one was prepared to let her in.   I don't know if that was just Jane, but I'd never have said she was unfriendly and she's not shy.  

Edited July 28, 2020 by Marisawright

[Rosie R]

@Marisawright it has been a bit all over the place with us on where we want to live, but recently my mum has taken a liking to the idea of living in Adelaide.

Previously, we lived in Tasmania (which is a lovely place) however we thought that this time it might be best to go to the mainland instead, as my sister and I are no longer young children, and it would make it easier to visit other places on the mainland. We have considered Melbourne/Victoria (which is probably our second choice), but we think that Adelaide seems to be an overall good pick, as it is more affordable than Sydney or Melbourne, has a nice climate and good weather, and is still in South Australia close to Tassie. 

Sydney, although I'm sure is a great city, is way too expensive for us and wouldn't be the right fit, Perth is nice however a bit too separated from the rest of the country for us, and north Australia is a bit too hot and dry for us. I think it's basically a choice between Tas, Melbourne and Adelaide.

From what we've seen, Adelaide seems like a more chilled (and for sure more affordable) place than say, Sydney, and seems to have almost everything a person could enjoy to a decent extent, at least. 

7 hours ago, Marisawright said:

but she found it extremely difficult to make friends.  She felt everyone had their established circles and no one was prepared to let her in.   I don't know if that was just Jane, but I'd never have said she was unfriendly and she's not shy. 

In regards to this, I have seen around this website the struggle Poms sometimes have with making friends, and I suppose that makes sense for adults with a pre-existing friend group. I am not sure what it will be like for both my mum and me in terms of making friends but I'd like to think it will be fine haha! My mum isn't extremely bothered when it comes to making new friends, as she is comfortable with her own company, but I'm sure if she wanted to socialise with new people she wouldn't have too much of a hard time - I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Thankyou for this feedback, I appreciate hearing people's opinions and stories!

[Marisawright]

Jane (my friend who moved to Adelaide) isn't British, she's Australian.  

Why are you only looking at capital cities?    There are other cities in Australia where you could get cheaper housing and a good quality of life with lots of amenities.   For instance, Newcastle (NSW) is bigger than Manchester, with fabulous beaches, trendy cafés, and the bright lights of Sydney are only two hours away on the train.   Being right in the middle of the Eastern coastline, you're well-placed for driving holidays up and down the coast, and it has an airport too.   Geelong is bigger than Southampton, beaches again, Melbourne less than two hours away. 

I say Adelaide is a compact city but actually, do you know that it's bigger than Birmingham, which is the largest city in the UK after London?  

[Rosie R]

@Marisawright 

13 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I say Adelaide is a compact city but actually, do you know that it's bigger than Birmingham, which is the largest city in the UK after London?  

I didn't actually know that! That is interesting, and I guess not surprising given the size of Aussie. To be fair, I do find it hard to properly picture the sheer scale of Australian Cities, as I have never visited them properly and I only really have Hobart and UK cities to go off haha. 

13 hours ago, Marisawright said:

Why are you only looking at capital cities?

In regards to only looking at capital cities, I am not actually quite sure as to why! I didn't really notice that. I suppose to start with, they were the most noticeable cities that, at the time, were the easiest to research. I think we might have looked at Adelaide rather than other large cities in South Australia as it is further south, closer to Melbourne/Victoria and Tas.

13 hours ago, Marisawright said:

There are other cities in Australia where you could get cheaper housing and a good quality of life with lots of amenities

Are there any cities like this in (Southern) South Australia and Victoria? I will do some more research on non-capital cities thankyou for reminding me

 

I will tell my mum about Newcastle and Geelong as well, thank you!

[Marisawright]

46 minutes ago, Rosie R said:

. I think we might have looked at Adelaide rather than other large cities in South Australia as it is further south, closer to Melbourne/Victoria and Tas.

Are there any cities like this in (Southern) South Australia and Victoria? I will do some more research on non-capital cities thankyou for reminding me

I will tell my mum about Newcastle and Geelong as well, thank you!

I don't think there are any other large cities in South Australia, actually.  This is the odd thing about Australia, and why most migrants do aim for the capital cities.  In the UK, there aren't many truly large cities, but there are plenty of medium-sized ones.  Australia is the opposite - most of the capital cities are really big, and there aren't many mid-sized cities at all. 

The bulk of our population is concentrated in very large cities: Sydney (5 million), Melbourne (5 million), Perth (2 million), Brisbane (2 million) and Adelaide (1 million+).   Comparee those populations t to the three biggest cities in the UK - London (7 million) and Birmingham and Liverpool (not even 1 million).  Bear in mind that you lived in Hobart, which is less than a third the size of Adelaide (and about the same size as Geelong and Newcastle). 

For all I know, you may be really looking forward to living in a big city after Hobart, and Adelaide has a small-town feel in spite of its population, so you might be fine.  But if you want to travel around Australia, I'm not sure it's a good choice.   It's a very long drive to anywhere and because SA is a bit of a backwater in business terms, flights are more expensive. 

https://blog.id.com.au/2020/population/population-trends/the-50-largest-cities-and-towns-in-australia-by-population-2020-update/

[Rosie R]

@Marisawright 

On 29/07/2020 at 14:10, Marisawright said:

I don't think there are any other large cities in South Australia, actually.  This is the odd thing about Australia, and why most migrants do aim for the capital cities.  In the UK, there aren't many truly large cities, but there are plenty of medium-sized ones.  Australia is the opposite - most of the capital cities are really big, and there aren't many mid-sized cities at all. 

Ah, I get what you mean.

On 29/07/2020 at 14:10, Marisawright said:

Bear in mind that you lived in Hobart, which is less than a third the size of Adelaide (and about the same size as Geelong and Newcastle). 

For all I know, you may be really looking forward to living in a big city after Hobart, and Adelaide has a small-town feel in spite of its population, so you might be fine

Also sorry for misleading you, I haven't actually lived in Hobart before! But I lived relatively near it and visited it often so I'm aware of its scale etc. I actually lived in Cygnet primarily during my time in Tas, as well as Margate and Snug, so I suppose I might be even more looking forward to living in a big city! 

 

On 29/07/2020 at 14:10, Marisawright said:

But if you want to travel around Australia, I'm not sure it's a good choice.   It's a very long drive to anywhere and because SA is a bit of a backwater in business terms, flights are more expensive. 

Thanks for the advice, I wasn't aware of this. It might not be a problem to begin with as we will be finding somewhere to get set up at and get on our feet, and we may even move to somewhere later on if we decide to, so in terms of travelling around Australia I think it might be alright for now! 

Thankyou for the input, I appreciate it! 

[Jon the Hat]

On 28/07/2020 at 23:47, Marisawright said:

Jane (my friend who moved to Adelaide) isn't British, she's Australian.  

Why are you only looking at capital cities?    There are other cities in Australia where you could get cheaper housing and a good quality of life with lots of amenities.   For instance, Newcastle (NSW) is bigger than Manchester, with fabulous beaches, trendy cafés, and the bright lights of Sydney are only two hours away on the train.   Being right in the middle of the Eastern coastline, you're well-placed for driving holidays up and down the coast, and it has an airport too.   Geelong is bigger than Southampton, beaches again, Melbourne less than two hours away. 

I say Adelaide is a compact city but actually, do you know that it's bigger than Birmingham, which is the largest city in the UK after London?  

Well you say that, but Birmingham metro population is more like 2.7M depending on where you draw the boundary.

[JetBlast]

On 28/07/2020 at 00:16, Rosie R said:

Hi! It's me again, back with another subjective question!

We are looking at Adelaide in terms of a place to live when we move back to Australia, and I wanted to get your opinions on popular suburbs around the city, and good cafes/pubs/food & drink, preferably in Western areas relatively near beaches.

I am aware that what counts as a 'good' suburb or place to live is highly subjective based on who you are, in my case; a 17-year old, a 15-year old (me) and a 50-year old, but I just wanted to see what you guys think are some good places to look at. 

My mum is an Occupational Therapist who is looking for areas in Adelaide that will be good for jobs in Voc Rehab and similar jobs.

The suburb/area doesn't necessarily have to be ideal for teenagers, as we aren't particularly interested in shopping, clubbing etc just yet. Personally, I would like a place that is accessible to local cafe's and takeaways, somewhere I could hangout with my friends. I've seen that there are trains/tram lines within the city and surrounding areas, so I could always use those to go to museums, pubs, libraries and other public buildings.

Of course, who doesn't love the beach? In an ideal world, we'd want to live somewhere relatively close to beaches (walking or biking distance ideally, but having to drive/use public transport is fine too of course!), whilst also being able to hop in the car or on a bus/train and drive to more urban public places.

Seeing as I am 15, I will be needing to go to a highschool in Adelaide, so a suburb relatively near to a good highschool or with school buses would be great haha

I know this is all really subjective and vague, and entirely dependant to what you look for in life, but basically I'm looking for your personal top picks in places to live in Adelaide that were/are good for you, as well as places that seem to decently cater for a person's needs in most aspects of life (nature, entertainment, jobs, education, food & drink, public transport, recreation).

Any recommendations at all are appreciated! And again, sorry for the subjectivity of the question. 

I would avoid anywhere north of the CBD. Maybe avoid Plympton as well.

Glenelg and Henley Beach are quite nice.

[Rosie R]

@JetBlast Thanks for the advice! 

[Lavers]

On 03/08/2020 at 21:39, JetBlast said:

I would avoid anywhere north of the CBD. Maybe avoid Plympton as well.

Glenelg and Henley Beach are quite nice.

Hi Jetblast

Why do you say avoid Plympton?

I only ask as that is where I will be moving to in a few weeks.

[Lavers]

Hi Rosie

If you are looking at public schools then you need to make sure that you are zoned to a good one.

www.education.sa.gov.au will allow you to see which areas are zoned to each school.

www.bettereducation.com.au will let you see what ranking they are.

I don't know how accurate these are but it's a start, and I've just moved to Aus so looking at schools for my girls 5 & 10.

[Rosie R]

@Lavers Thanks, I will have a look at those websites!