Hi everyone
New to this site, will tell you all a little about us husband steve and our two girls (8,3 yrs ) and me Lesley moved to Adelaide in July this year on a permanent visa,
found it hard to settle well I have i just feel there is something missing just can't put my finger on it . we originally wanted to go to Brisbane but choose Adelaide instead unsure why, anyway what I'm trying to say is if anybody out there who has been to both places and choosen Brisbane to live
What were the reasons
Have you found it better


Thanks
lesley

 

Afternoon,
god I could have written that post, and more 18 months ago!!!!
We went to Adelaide first in March 06 stayed a year then headed up to Hervey Bay on the Fraser Coast. Never looked back.
Angela

 

Ive never been to Ade,llaide so cant really comment ,however in this last 12 months i have relocated 2 Uk familys who just couldnt settle there ,they too love it up here,could you not have short reccie to see what you make of the place? ,good luck with everything
Cal x

 

We could have written this post as well! We have just joined and were just about to put a post on to introduce ourselves when we read your thread!

We are Steve and Emma with kids, 8 and 3.

We went to Adelaide in April 2006 and left to come back to UK in July this year. Having serious regrets and thinking of coming back. Before we left AUstralia we drove from Brisbane up to Rockhampton to visit friends. Absolutely loved areas like Maroochydore, Noosa etc.

We too were wondering if anyone had made the move from Adelaide to the Sunshine Coast and how they felt about it?

Good luck whatever you decide Simpson Clan. PS Whereabouts are you in Adelaide?

Cheers

Emma & Steve

 

Thank you everyone for your replies. We are going to come for a short holiday maybe over Christmas or just after unsure what would be best, just to get a feel for the place so I'm sure I will be on this site again very soon asking lots of questions.

Emma and steve we are living in Hallett Cove at the moment, would like to hear more from you both about your dicisions on wanting to return home and what you both regret. As I too thought about giving it a year or two and maybe going home but started to think maybe it's just Adelaide (then again it could be me?) time will tell....

Thanks
Lesley

 

Hi I am new to this site too, but your post caught my eye so I registered.

We (myself wife and 2 kids) also moved from the UK to Adelaide in 2005, we were drawn in by the hype I think, the promise of a great relaxed lifestyle, great weather, plenty of qwork and cheap houses, there is no doubt the SA government are good at advertising to entice new migrants.

I had previously never been to Adelaide, but lived in Perth for a while when I was a kid, and I guess I had a mental picture based on that, and the promotional stuff. We did do some research, but did not have a recce trip before packing up and moving, it was all a big adventure and we were in great spirits

When we arrived I remember immediately feeling very underwhelmed, a feeling that didn't really go away while touring the local suburbs and deciding where to live, I also found that although many of the people were very friendly there the service we recieved from almost everyone we had to deal with from restaurants to furniture stores was very very poor, it really wasn't a great start, but we were still very upbeat.

We tried our best to settle there, I started work, we bought a nice house in Hallett Cove with great views over the water, and we renovated it from top to bottom,
but we (or more particularly I) just could not settle there, I can't really put my finger on any particular reason why I was unsettled, it was just a lot of things that I didn't like.
After a year there we had a holiday driving up to Brissie, then stayed for 2 weeks and drove back, I instantly liked QLD, it just felt more like Australia to me and we spent a lot of time looking around and getting a feel for life here, instead of holidaying.

When we got back we decided immediately that we wanted to move, but we had to stay a while longer for a variety of reasons (one of them being we had started a major renovation) and couldn't sell up half way through.

The waiting time in Adelaide before we could move was terrible, all of those little niggly things began to mount up, until we started to het the place with a passion.
We also found that many peoples attitudes changed as soon as we said we were moving, it seems most Adeladians have a strong negative opinion of anything that isn't in their town, we had lots of really stupid comments about why we shouldn't move, they were normally something to do with Qld being too humid all year round, or having nothing but theme parks, ranging to Queenlanders need to buy new shoes and clothes every few weeks because everything goes mouldy

Surprisingly though a few born and bred Adeladians thought it was the right move, because there was more of everything up here.

We had a lot of good friends there and they were all supportive too.

Eventually all work was finished, we sold up and moved here in January this year, we love our life here and settled immediately, we are living in the Redlands at Wellington Point, and have no reason to want to move any further away in the future.

The lifestyle is just incomaprible to Adelaide, at home we spend most of the summer outside, the kids love the pool, nothing is dry and dusty, and there are virtually no flies copmpared to SA.

Away from home there is loads to do, we have met lots of good friends, and socialise as much if not more than we did in adelaide, there are loads of places to take the kids within easy reach, and we have a few hobbies and sports we do.
Compared to Adelaide where a night out meant going into town I have not been out for a night in Brisbane at all yet, it's not that I don't want to, there has just been more that enough going on where we live.

Sorry for the long post, there is so much more I could add as comparisons between the 2 places it would go on forever, but when I saw this it just made me think of our previous situation, and wanted to say how much our lives changed for the better by coming here.
If I can offer any advise or information please feel free to ask.

P.S
Have I seen some of you on Adelaide Brits? I lurked there a bit but have never posted anything as so many posts about the negative side of Adelaide turn into silly bunfights

 

Hi Mark
Thanks for a very informative post, made me think alot.
Husband and I spoke last night and decided that we well come for a visit, a bit like yourselves just to get a feel for the place will be showing Steve your post when he gets back from work.
I will be in touch to let you know how we are getting on and if we need anymore info if that's okay.
One thing did you find a big difference in house prices compared to Adelaide for example :Hallett Cove
Many thanks
Lesley

Ps Have been on adbrits but never posted much.

 

Hi Lesley,

No I found the whole cheaper housing thing was a bit hyped up, the average (or median) prices in Adelaide are lower simply because there are proportionately more smaller houses, and lots of cheaper areas like Hackham in the South, or Salisbury in the North which keep the "average" figure low and provides a great statistic to make Adelaide sound affordable.

Equivalent house to what we had in Hallett Cove would be a very similar price in the suburbs local to here, it may well include a pool for about the same money.
However it really depends on your budget, there are not so many houses in the smaller and cheaper range local to me.

There are suburbs that are just starting to develop now that are incredible value too, we had a bit of a look at Greenbank, Spring Mountain etc, and saw some lovely homes on 1-2 acres for between $450,000 and $600,000, there is no way you could get anything remotely like that in Adelaide, and although they are in areas with less infrastructure (for now) they are developing and they are still not far from shops/schools/places of employment etc.

The other advantage here is that there are plenty of good work opportunities away from the major industrial areas or the City, my wife has a great job, which is 25 minute (rush hour) drive away paying about 60% more than she got in Adelaide, I found that most trade jobs here seem to pay substantially more too, so overall we have found our standard of living is improved here.

There are some other minor things that help the budget a little too, petrol is cheaper here by about 7c per litre, car rego is cheaper for many models, and some groceries are a lot cheaper, we have Aldi in our area and that keeps costs down a bit, but even if you don't shop there the nearest Coles or Woolworths will have cheaper prices due to the competition.
And this may sound a bit odd, but the fresh fruit and veg is a much higher quality, we found we were always throwing out fresh stuff that had gone off in Adelaide (I lost count of how many times I took unedible stuff back to Foodland at HC mall) but here most of what we buy lasts a lot longer, and is generally tastier too.

I think a visit is a good idea, I often wonder what we would have done if we had visited Adelaide first, but I don't let it worry me much, as I posted elsewhere my 2 and a half years in Adelaide taught me to appreciate Brisbane more

 

Thanks for these posts guys ,it really hits home how tough you guys have /are having it. I cant imagine the confusuion and frustration you fell ,Mark you are great at giving advice and spot on with your comments ,thank you for that.
Lesley i would personally visit just after Xmas when everything is open ,Xmas is holiday mode up here and lots of places are packed out which could give you the wrong impression of an area.Good luck with everything and keep us all posted as to what you decide.
Cal x

 

As I too thought about giving it a year or two and maybe going home but started to think maybe it's just Adelaide (then again it could be me?) time will tell....



And I thought it was just me as well! We certainly have thought perhaps there's nothing wrong with the places we're living in, but that it is just us never being happy!

We were in Woodcroft so know Hallett Cove very well.

To be honest we didn't have any major issues with Adelaide, but there wasn't much work for hubbie there. There also isn't really anywhere much to go from Adelaide (withing driving distance) which was a downside. The main thing however was that we (mostly me actually) was homesick. We realised very quickly after getting back to UK that although we did miss things about England, it had changed and so had we and it just wasn't home any more.

We now face the difficult decision of Adelaide or QLD. Adelaide has the pull of friends and familiarity. Hubbie has now decided he is going to do an apprenticeship so the work problem would no longer be a problem.

We did however really like the Sunshine Coast and just like Mark C said, it felt like we had found the Australia we had been looking for. It was so much greener and more tropical. This was in July and it was 22! But we did feel it was humid and did wonder how we would cope with the Summer humidity.

Obviously it also then brings up the issue of where on earth would be live? We loved Noosa, Maroochydore, Mooloolaba but think they would probably be too expensive and we just don;t know what work is like there. There are so many nice areas, how would we choose?

There are so many decisions to be made!

Do you have any idea of where you would like to end up ie Brisbane area, Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast?

Mark C, it was so interesting to read your post. I know this post isn't about us, but we found it so helpful. How far away from Brisbane city are you?

Emma

PS Yes we were on Adelaide Brits

 

Hi Simpsons,

We went out to Adelaide to validate our visas in August. We stayed in Mclaren Vale which was a beautiful area, yet no transport links for our teenager or grandad.

Beautiful beeches. Small houses with small gardens.

Yet we were so disappointed. So we have decided not to migrate to Adelaide and try Brisbane or Queensland instead. Orginally my husband did not want to validate our visa but we are all so glad we did.

So its Bris and Queensland here we come to have a look.

Everyone paints a rosy picture of Adelaide and if you say anything else they are very negative but we do not care as we are not going to live there
lyn

 

Thanks again Mark another good read, our budget for a house was around the Hallett Cove area so after reading your post I don't feel we would be unable to afford to buy somewhere in Brisbane.
Will be coming to Brisbane around January time to have a good look around, Will keep in touch and maybe meet up with some of you from the site just to help us on our way of discovering all the good things there...

Emma I know what you mean about (maybe it's me never being happy)
Unsure on which area of Queensland will get a better idea when we go in January.
When I read your posts your thoughts and feelings are so similar to mine.
You never know what the future holds might meet up in Brisbane or Adelaide?

Thanks again to everyone

Lesley

 

Emma, we are about 21kms South East of the CBD, we are on the coast, but it is very suburban, we have a huge number of shops, restaurants, pubs, cinemas, clubs, and recreational facilities very close by, the suburbs and infrastructure here is designed very differently to Adelaide, so there is no reliance on being close to the city (we are fairly close anyway) unless you have to have a job that is in the business district, so many other suburbs in all directions are very attractive and are just as convenient.

And of course there is no need to stay close to Brissie, there are lots of great places on the Gold Coast, The sunshine Coast and elsewhere

Incidentally, for those that do work in "city" type jobs, there is a much bigger CBD here, with plenty of good opportunities for people with skills and experience, whereas we always found Adelaide to have a very small town mentality, we know of many very experienced people who could not even get into very basic positions in Adelaide.

It is similar for trades, skilled hard working people are well regarded, and paid considerably higher salaries, so if your hubby is thinking of an apprenticeship, he will make a much better living here than he would there.

If any of you are paying a visit, and want to say hello, please feel free to let us know, Paula and I always like meeting new friends, and it is often good to chat with people who are travelling similar paths to ourselves.

If we can offer any more advice just ask

 

hi mark,
its great advice, we are torn between brisbane and adelaide and you have given some great advice, so our decision could very well be brisbane.
can you let me know how hot it becomes in summer and whats the winters like?
cheers
Tracey

 

Hi Tracey,

We have only been here for one summer, and that was colder and wetter than normal, we found it very pleasant though, although on the really hot days you won't want to work too hard.

The maximum temperatures here are lower than those in Adelaide, but it does also get humid,
I suppose it depends on individuals what they like/dislike or are uncomfortable with in temperatures, in Adelaide it would get over 40 degrees and even though it wasn't humid it was uncomfortable, but the weather changes a lot, it may stay like that for a while or could be in the 20's the very next day.
Here it is more consistent, may be in the mid 30's every day for a few weeks, and that with high humidity is uncomfortable too for many people.

The winter is another story, in Adelaide it gets cold for months (5 and a half months last year we were using heating and wearing jackets indoors), the days are usually nice, but the nights get down round freezing, the lack of humidity makes it feel even colder, and the houses are very poorly insulated and heated.

Whereas here we had about 4-5 weeks of cold (ish) evenings, there were a couple around 5 degrees overnight, but most were 8-10 degrees, days were mostly pleasant and warm, we used the heating for about 2-3 weeks total, and then only for very short periods to take the chill off, and we never dressed up warm.

So overall it is warm and pleasant more of the time here, and not so changeable, the summer can be a really sticky for while, but the winters are very mild.
And in Adelaide it is cold much more often, the winter evenings are bitterly cold, it can still get too hot but not for as long, and th weather can change daily.

We prefer to be too hot for a month or so, compared to cold for 4 or 5 months, and too hot for few odd weeks, but it's not to everyones liking

 

thanks for that mark, i want to escape from the cold so i think Adelaide is out.
I thinkits going to be Brisbane now, it sounds a more exciting place to be.
Tracey

 

Hi !! My name is SA Great and I live in Adelaide, hence the name!! I emigrated from the UK 17 years ago and I can also be found on Poms In Adelaide. I have been reading this thread with great interest over the last few days and especially like your comments Mark C. The bit about cheaper areas bringing the median price of Adelaide house prices down was interesting. We have heaps of good friends in Adelaide but to be honest I have always had a soft spot for Brissie (especially the Gold Coast!!) I haven't ruled out joining you guys in Brissie, although it would be hard starting over again.

Don't get me wrong, Adelaide is a really nice city, very spacious, great beaches (and cold water!!) but I think the cold in the winter and the negativity of Adelaide is it's downfall. It always seems to struggle to build anything because a lot of people don't want anything to change.

Anyway, at the risk of sounding like a whinging pom I will wrap up this post now. Keep the interesting stuff happening guys.

 

Hi

This my first post, so I'm going to keep it brief!

I'm hoping to come to Brisbane around about xmas time on a 457 visa (am busy having interviews with a few city based Co.s at the mo) and the posts I've found on this thread have helped a great deal - especially from you Mark, cheers - I'd just read a couple of posts on POI where newly emigrated members were saying how disappointed they were in Brisbane (mainly about the cost of living - housing, groceries & white goods etc) and were wondering why they'd made the move, I was starting to doubt if I was making the right move. But reading this thread has put me right back in the saddle. Thanks

While I'm on does anyone have a rough idea of the commuting time ito the CBD from Sprigfield Lakes (by car, or bus) and is SL a decent enough area to live, are there shops and shools near there....oh and pubs? ;-)

Thanks a lot

Paul

 

Hiya Springfield lakes is a lovely area, very popular too. Not a million miles from us and theres a great new shopping centre we sometimes go to. Id say about 25 mins tops into the city ,but as always it will depend on traffic! lol. Dont let peoples negatives put you off ,just remember them so you dont make the same mistakes,and for every one who goes back theres half a dozen of us stay!
Cal x

 

Paul,

I haven't been on that forum, so didn't see the posts, but there is no doubt the cost of living isn't as cheap as many people expect it to be here, somethings are ridiculously expensive compared to the UK, but then again other stuff is much cheaper.

Australia is definitely not a shoppers paradise either, there is little competition among differing types of stores, so there is no need for the retail sector to have low prices, the Woolworths/Coles supermarket duopoly proves this.

But these are problems that are throughout Australia, and I am sure with the increase in Aldi stores, and the imminent arrival of Costco, we should start to see better deals for consumers in some areas at least.

I think it took us a while to get used to the Aussie retail experience, (although I immediately took to haggling for almost everything I bought, often to Paula's embarrassment :laugh
we found that it's best to look carefully when shopping for groceries, as some days the prices will just sneak up for no apparant reason.
An example recently was Brocolli it varied from $1.49, to $7.99 per kilo in the same week, god only knows why, but we simply avoid buying items when they get overpriced, the supermarkets will always drop the prices again very quickly anyway.
We found frozen convenience foods to be more expensive here, but fresh meat (and often veg) to be much cheaper, but overall I don't think our grocery bill is much different to the UK, our fuel and housing costs are much lower though, so we do have a lower cost of living when all things are considered.

As for white goods, furniture etc, I always advise people to consider bringing all of their stuff from the UK, it will all work here, so why give away expensive stuff for next to nothing, then have to replace it all at high prices when you arrive?
Of course that doesn't suit everyone, but it is always worth doing the maths to see if it's worthwhile.
We brought a lot of stuff with us, including cars, which were worth much less in the Uk than hre. We later sold one of these for a great profit, enough to pay for the costs of transporting the other one and a fair way towards the shipping of our household stuff, a little research can go a long way to minimising costs.