Is Adelaide Behind The Times

[Guest SamSam]

Oh my goodness you guys, my husband is in his element! Just when i thought $500 dollars was coming my way.

Personally i can't comment on Adelaide because i haven't been there but not long to go now before we get there.

Anyway i'd like to thank you all for all of your comments good and bad.

Thanks Again

p.s

Are the beaches safe for my children to swim in or would you advise me to keep them to the swimming pool only?

[Lazy Cow]

Hi SamSam,

Don't give up hope of that $500! After all, if all your husband was betting on was the availability of American freezers etc...you'll win!:laugh:

 

IMHO, when people say that SA is behind the times, they are actually referring to a state of mind rather than the state of our technology! Things like people chatting to you just because you pass them on the street (having a cute dog/child helps with that one lol!), being able to talk to a kid and getting more than a monosyllabic grunt from them, having neighbours that will look out for you and say 'hi', or going to the footy with your kids and feeling safe. Unless Port is playing obv.*

 

I'm sure your kids will be just fine in the sea, especially if they stay within the flagged area of the local surf life club.I go down the beach a fair bit and see kids swimming, surfing, or just playing beach games etc. Mine go down with their mates to jetty-jump (if there isn't an adult there to stop them of course!) or just board. It's free and cooler in summer...win win!

 

Kdal is, as usual, absolutely right. All the states have a rep and that taking the mickey is the norm. Some people believe Adelaide is a wonderful secret, and others that it's a boring backwater....all down to individual perception and all good.

 

Oh and are you sure it's going to be $500...shouldn't the bet be in pounds since it's been made while you are still in the UK????

LC

 

*I was being facetious ok!!!

PS. Tyke 'ard? Ha!

[Guest SamSam]

Hi SamSam,

Don't give up hope of that $500! After all, if all your husband was betting on was the availability of American freezers etc...you'll win!:laugh:

 

IMHO, when people say that SA is behind the times, they are actually referring to a state of mind rather than the state of our technology! Things like people chatting to you just because you pass them on the street (having a cute dog/child helps with that one lol!), being able to talk to a kid and getting more than a monosyllabic grunt from them, having neighbours that will look out for you and say 'hi', or going to the footy with your kids and feeling safe. Unless Port is playing obv.*

 

I'm sure your kids will be just fine in the sea, especially if they stay within the flagged area of the local surf life club.I go down the beach a fair bit and see kids swimming, surfing, or just playing beach games etc. Mine go down with their mates to jetty-jump (if there isn't an adult there to stop them of course!) or just board. It's free and cooler in summer...win win!

 

Kdal is, as usual, absolutely right. All the states have a rep and that taking the mickey is the norm. Some people believe Adelaide is a wonderful secret, and others that it's a boring backwater....all down to individual perception and all good.

 

Oh and are you sure it's going to be $500...shouldn't the bet be in pounds since it's been made while you are still in the UK????

LC

 

*I was being facetious ok!!!

PS. Tyke 'ard? Ha!

 

Hi LC,

Thank you very much for the info.

I am taking all the posts with a pinch of salt and will make our own minds up when we get there, but it is good to hear people's points of view good and bad.

As you said everyone has different perceptions, but if South Australia is as good as you have described it then i'm sure we are going to be very very happy.

You can't put a price on people being friendly and everyone looking out for each other.

These days in UK people forget to recognise those qualities which is quite sad really.

Anyway won't be long for us to get out there and if it's as you described it and kiddies are happy that is what counts.

Thanks Again LC

SamSam

p.s

As for the bet with hubby he's too switched on for his own good hence dollars and not sterling!!:smile:

[Diane]

All the states do like ribbing each other, and you'll always get someone who is dissatisfied with their life here, choosing to blame it on the place rather than looking inside themselves and working out why they're really dissatisfied with their lives!

 

We've been in Adelaide five years nearly, give or take the odd month. I was born in Sydney and have visited both NSW, QLD and VIC and still Adelaide has what I want for my family while they grow up. It may be that as they get older they will want to move elsewhere for a bit more nightlife and maybe career prospects, but for the ages they are now (12 and 14) Adelaide offers a place to grow up in relative safety, friendly people, plenty of outdoor activities, huge range of musical and sports on offer, great education, and good weather and perhaps most importantly for a child's confidence, the true opportunity to excel as a "big fish in a small pond".

 

Teenagers here are articulate and friendly, (or the ones I've met are) and the whole "Kevin the Teenager" thing is completely foreign to most here. I am happy for my kids to cycle to school, play in the park, or meet up with their friends - they spend their time with friends doing things like playing tennis, swimming in a friend's pool, going to the beach in the summer, or going for a bike ride together, as well as the usual Playstation/Wii/Sims things. In the UK my friends kids of the same age seem to just go hang out in a shopping centre - I know which I'd prefer my kids were doing!

 

There is a good mix of different nationalities - my son's best friends are Sri Lankan, Lebanese and from the Torrens Strait islands, as well as Australian and English. Yes, there is a problem occasionally with the planners in Adelaide being influenced too much by some small but vocal affluent minorities, but hey, that doesn't affect my life too much! The media is a little provincial too - we certainly don't have papers like The Sun or The Daily Mail, just our little local 'Tiser! The radio stations are pretty dire, and the TV stations not much better - but hey, that's what BBC iPlayer is for!! It does mean though, that the kids heroes and role models tend to be sportsmen and women, rather than the Amy Winehouses of the world!

 

It's not the choice for everyone as you'll see from the posts before this one, but if you're looking for a place for your family to grow up, it's certainly not a bad choice! 20 years behind? Maybe in some ways, but think back to you own childhood, and if there's stuff in that that you'd like for your kids, then Adelaide just may be the place to find it!

 

Diane

[ali]

Hi I will have to agree with your Hubby,

Adelaide is a back water country town, No forward thinking or planning ( look at the southern express way, for that ) the town is all hot wind of what they want to do but have not got the Balls to do.

I would head to Perth Or Brisbane, if you like going out dont come here, all closed by 9 pm

 

but yes for 4 months of the year we have nice beaches, with a cold sea.

 

You'll find Perth closes by 9pm too - we're currently debating late night shopping!!

 

Ali

[Bod]

Hi Folks,

My husband tells me Adelaide is about 20years behind the times.

Somehow i don't think this is true but i would love to prove him wrong (hopefully!).

Does Adelaide have the all up to date mod cons such as big American fridge freezers and plasma tvs and apple mac laptops etc...

I would love to hear all of your comments.

Thank You

 

 

 

 

Adelade is behinde the times. But that is the beauty of the place. Nice little city a bit boring I'll admit but it's got a little charm.

 

Not as virant as the big 2 but a whole lot better than Brissy (imo)

[Guest Joey D]

We've lived in Adelaide for a year, it'll be our 1st anniversary next week. I'm still undecided on the place, some days I like it and some days I don't. My husband was struggling to find work and we were thinking of moving to Queensland, just as we were preparing to move he got a 10 month contract job so we are staying here for the time being. I must say, I was rather looking forward to moving but after moving to Adelaide without having visited it before, we will be definitely having a reccie before deciding where to move onto if we do.

 

The things I like about Adelaide are:

1) The climate is less humid (so I'm told) than up North

2) It's easy to get round

3) Some beaches are lovely, my little boy loves the beach

 

They say, you'll appreciate Adelaide more when moving away - just what people said to me about England before I left!!

[Guest waltonwebb]

Hi Sam sam, We were in Adelaide just over a year ago and observations are below:

We walked into a pub is Seaford at 08:45PM one evening, got a beer then upon walking through from the first bar to the other the barman walked through & shouted "last orders please" -we thought this was a hoot until he told us they shut at 09:00PM:arghh:

Also I have never been anywhere else where the main arterial motorway runs in one direction mornings and the opposite way in the afternoon:confused:

 

This said, we did love Adelaide, Houses can be fab with all mod cons you mention and there are some very nice towns

 

Not sure how the wager is going with your o/h but I would call it a 50/50 split

Cheers, Al n' Cath

[Bod]

Hi Sam sam, We were in Adelaide just over a year ago and observations are below:

We walked into a pub is Seaford at 08:45PM one evening, got a beer then upon walking through from the first bar to the other the barman walked through & shouted "last orders please" -we thought this was a hoot until he told us they shut at 09:00PM:arghh:

Also I have never been anywhere else where the main arterial motorway runs in one direction mornings and the opposite way in the afternoon:confused:

 

This said, we did love Adelaide, Houses can be fab with all mod cons you mention and there are some very nice towns

 

Not sure how the wager is going with your o/h but I would call it a 50/50 split

Cheers, Al n' Cath

 

 

 

I thought that was a cracking idea. Well it does do the trick.

[Guest waltonwebb]

Totally agreed: As long as you have no need to be traveling in the opposite direction!!!

[Bod]

Totally agreed: As long as you have no need to be traveling in the opposite direction!!!

 

 

 

Ok you did'nt like Adelaide did you settle anywere else.

 

 

Ps they did have a smaller road paralel that went the opposite way.

[Guest SamSam]

We've lived in Adelaide for a year, it'll be our 1st anniversary next week. I'm still undecided on the place, some days I like it and some days I don't. My husband was struggling to find work and we were thinking of moving to Queensland, just as we were preparing to move he got a 10 month contract job so we are staying here for the time being. I must say, I was rather looking forward to moving but after moving to Adelaide without having visited it before, we will be definitely having a reccie before deciding where to move onto if we do.

 

The things I like about Adelaide are:

1) The climate is less humid (so I'm told) than up North

2) It's easy to get round

3) Some beaches are lovely, my little boy loves the beach

 

They say, you'll appreciate Adelaide more when moving away - just what people said to me about England before I left!!

 

Hi Joey,

Firstly congratulations on your first years anniversary. They say the hardest year is always the first year.

We are living in Spain and it will be nearly a year for us here in a couple of weeks time. We moved out here whilst waiting for our visa to go through. I knew as soon as i moved here i wouldn't be happy and i was always told if you live somewhere that you're not sure of then there is a good chance you will be happy once you've given it a chance.

At least your husband has a job now and in ten months time you might feel differently.

Hope it all works out for you.

Kind Regards

SamSam

[seayork2002]

I hope it is behind the times............that is why I might be miving there

[Bod]

I hope it is behind the times............that is why I might be miving there

 

 

 

Is Miving Australian for Mincing?

[seayork2002]

More like moving

 

Is Miving Australian for Mincing?

[Bod]

More like moving

 

 

I thought that is what you meant. Just wanted to be sure.

 

Good Luck with your move

 

John

[seayork2002]

thanks

[emu]

I think Adelaide is a bit behind and its quite conservative.

For some people is a good thing, as life is less stressful for others is just plain boring. It depends of your expectations and what you want to do.

[Guest SamSam]

Hi Emu,

Had you visited Adelaide on a previous occasion?

The reason I ask is we are going completely blind and really looking forward to our move. We like the less stressful lifestyle and want more of an outdoor life and good weather for the children.

Hope you don't mind me asking but did you book a rental from the UK or did you wait until you got there. We have just booked our flights for November but thinking it might be better to stay in a hotel until we find an area and a rental there.

Look forward to hearing from you.

SamSam x

[mooney33]

I will add his comments to my growing list of myths and legends. Adelaide is considered to be the best place to test new products and ideas becaus Mr & Mrs Average live there. Although I would never want to live in Australia myself I have visited on business and pleasure many times and I love the place. If I had to live any where it would be Adelaide.

Too many people think holiday first before considering that 90% of the time will be spent working eating and sleeping. The time off for holidays and leisure is best served from Adelaide where there is everything you need on a day to day basis and the new(ish) airport will whisk you away to any where in Australia very cheaply.

[emu]

Hi Emu,

Had you visited Adelaide on a previous occasion?

Hope you don't mind me asking but did you book a rental from the UK or did you wait until you got there. SamSam x

 

Hi, know we never been before we didn't do a reccie because we thought it would be better to use that money to settle. It's a nice city don't get me wrong but after London, it feels very slow.

We were lucky to got a rental through a friend before we got here. We didn't want to spend to much money on a hotel, as the money could disapear very quickly if we didn't find something straight away. It is quite difficult for imigrants to get a rental. Have you tried OAA (google OAA adelaide for more info), you still have the time to book it. And if you don't like it you just need to give 1-2 weeks notice (can't remember exactly).

I have heard recently that if you finish you rental contract before the end of the term that you are responsible to pay fees to advertise it or pay rent until end of contract if they don't find a new tennant. I need to find out if this is the case or not as we might want to end our contract before, as we would like to be closer to the beach and the city.

Good luck with all.

[olly]

Coming from Melbourne which is very busy, I find Adelaide very charming and found plenty to do.

 

It's the sort of place you can go for a nice (or a naughty) weekend and drive out to the Barossa Valley etc. Melbourne and Sydney are 'busier' types of places and so are many of the people, but, along with Tasmania which also has a bit of a reputation for being 'quieter' (I say "lovely!) I do like Adelaide.

I have been to Adelaide for the cricket, and their ground is very nice for a cricket tragic like me.

[Guest SamSam]

Hi, know we never been before we didn't do a reccie because we thought it would be better to use that money to settle. It's a nice city don't get me wrong but after London, it feels very slow.

We were lucky to got a rental through a friend before we got here. We didn't want to spend to much money on a hotel, as the money could disapear very quickly if we didn't find something straight away. It is quite difficult for imigrants to get a rental. Have you tried OAA (google OAA adelaide for more info), you still have the time to book it. And if you don't like it you just need to give 1-2 weeks notice (can't remember exactly).

I have heard recently that if you finish you rental contract before the end of the term that you are responsible to pay fees to advertise it or pay rent until end of contract if they don't find a new tennant. I need to find out if this is the case or not as we might want to end our contract before, as we would like to be closer to the beach and the city.

Good luck with all.

Hi Emu,

Thank you for that info. I will definately try that website. Good luck with your move too.

Thanks Again.

SamSam x

[Guest]

Hi I will have to agree with your Hubby,

Adelaide is a back water country town, No forward thinking or planning ( look at the southern express way, for that ) the town is all hot wind of what they want to do but have not got the Balls to do.

I would head to Perth Or Brisbane, if you like going out dont come here, all closed by 9 pm

 

but yes for 4 months of the year we have nice beaches, with a cold sea.

 

All closed by 9pm???? You are having a laugh, the city is buzzing at 1.30am, there are actually 24 hr pubs if you know where they are, clubs are open till 6am what more do you want? Not to mention the Fringe. Oh and the restaurants are fantastic. I love going out and have had a whale of a time since we have been here, and we lived in London for many years but don't miss it at all...

 

We even have 24hr maccas, subway and supermarket if we have any urgent needs of that type!!!

 

Cold sea? Get a solar pool!!! :smile:

 

Mel x

[Guest sazzle76]

It's in the perception I feel.

 

There is loads to see and do here if you go a looking.The city is very vibrant - just don't get much time to get in there.

 

I find the sea lovely and warm - not that I care to swim with the White Pointers though!:hug::hug:

 

As long as the sea aint cold and bown with shopping trolleys and sewer waste in it has my vote!! We never been to Adelaide but chose it over Melbourne for our 6 week reccie. (didnt like Mel last time, very cold and too cityfied (im not a city person)

 

I loved the way the UK was back in the early 80s - safe and kids were kids. Im hoping adelaide is still behind the times slightly - for this respect anyway.

Will have my own views when i return end of Oct!

I do say North NSW is still my fave place so far....