Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Hi,
A job opportunity came up in South Australia, more specifically Adelaide and I was wondering if people could provide me with some rental advice. We would be renting and require a suitable place commutable from Mawson Lakes.
Some of the things we consider important include the following:
1. Peaceful (bush out look would be nice)
2. Bike commute to work relatively safe and < 30km each way
3. Close to nice places to ride, preferably hills
4. affordable. rental < $400
5. Not appartments because we have a pet dog (it will be hard to find pet friendly rentals)
6. Safe for a family. Kids not in school so nothing to worry about.
7. Not too far from hospital

Not in any particular order.
Thanks,
Jon

From your list, you would be looking towards the Adelaide hills more than city, and North can be a bit feral (inner city bias there ) as well as hot and dusty.

PM Daccordi rider, as he is in the industry and may be able to help more than me.

Your Point 7 (hospital) is interesting - any particular reason, and any particular hosp ?

The closest major hosp (public) to Mawson lakes is Lyell McEwen (sp?).

A mate works at Mawson Lakes (researcher (AT) UniSA), and he commutes from Brighton (which is about 30km each way and relatively flat), but I think the biggest constraining fact will be the rental budget.

Adelaides rental market is typically tight, but much better priced than Sydney or Melb. maybe log onto a few of the real estate mobs and see what comes up. If you want advice re specific suburbsm, then better advice can be given re some of your Q's.

Good luck, and enjoy when you arrive.

MichaelB wrote:From your list, you would be looking towards the Adelaide hills more than city, and North can be a bit feral (inner city bias there ) as well as hot and dusty.

PM Daccordi rider, as he is in the industry and may be able to help more than me.

Your Point 7 (hospital) is interesting - any particular reason, and any particular hosp ?

The closest major hosp (public) to Mawson lakes is Lyell McEwen (sp?).

A mate works at Mawson Lakes (researcher (AT) UniSA), and he commutes from Brighton (which is about 30km each way and relatively flat), but I think the biggest constraining fact will be the rental budget.

Adelaides rental market is typically tight, but much better priced than Sydney or Melb. maybe log onto a few of the real estate mobs and see what comes up. If you want advice re specific suburbsm, then better advice can be given re some of your Q's.

Good luck, and enjoy when you arrive.

Thanks for the advise Michael. So two suburbs come to mind. Brighton and Adelaide Hills.
Regarding hospital, I have an on going illness and may require medical attention. Its not frequent that my condition deteroriates to the point where hospital is required, but not too far would be ideal.
Is there any reason why it is hotter and dustier in the North? Industry perhaps? So I take it that South Adelaide would be a better location.
Rental in Sydney is terrible. When I first arrived in Sydney, I was paying $500/wk for a 3 bedroom tiny home 35km from the CBD. That was 3 years ago. You will be lucky to get that price now. We are not looking to buy since we are clueless as to how long we will be there.
I will give Daccordi rider a PM. Thanks for the tip.

Cheers
Jon

Hi Jon,

I have pm'ed you with my contacts. Happy to help.

Thanks for the help. I will drop you an email.

Jon

Some nice acreage/farm houses around one tree hill. Good commute to ML,rolling hills,views. Probs not the popular end of the hills but i know a few cyclists who live up there. Climb home though.

boyracer wrote:Some nice acreage/farm houses around one tree hill. Good commute to ML,rolling hills,views. Probs not the popular end of the hills but i know a few cyclists who live up there. Climb home though.

I like acreages. I can get back to organic farming. it will be sad to leave my vegetable patch and fruit trees in Sydney. They have been good for us. I will not be looking at acreages to rent, but if we decide to buy, they would be nice. Why is it not popular? Is it less safe?

Jon

One Tree Hill looks like a nice place to live. Its not much of a climb and it is only one way. my commute in Sydney is twice as long and twice as much climbing each way so this is quite easy. Thanks for the recommendation.

Jon

silkishuge wrote: Is there any reason why it is hotter and dustier in the North? Industry perhaps? So I take it that South Adelaide would be a better location.
....Cheers
Jon

More in the Adelaide plains and far from the sea.

Summer can get hot temps and the hot northerly's (see TdU stage 1) weather. Yuck.

Yes, south has some better locations imho, and plenty of hills routes or flat routes.

^ most peeps,even those desirous of acreage/hobby farm/agistments want to live closer to cosmopolitan areas 'cause relative to SYD its still affordable/achievable. Definitely more rural outlook out OTH, bit drier.

The foot hills (clarendon to cherryville) are prime but pricey, and not really within cycle commuting distance of Mawson lakes.

I'll be commuting there for uni from CBD this year too.

You could probably rent a dog friendly acre or so/4 bm/sheds for <500 at OTH.

Summer anywhere in SA can be bl**dy hot. If you commute in Syd you're gonna love it here!

Don't forget that Adelaide is really flat until you hit the foothills. a 30km commute to Mawson Lakes could put you anywhere from Gawler to Flagstaff Hill and quite a long way into the hills as well.

The Gawler Train line runs through Mawson Lakes and will take you and your bike. So realistically you could look at anywhere within riding distance to the train line, or do what I do and commute one way and catch the train home. Might be better to figure out where you'd like to ride and work backwards

Also, might be worth checking out the AdelaideCyclists.com forums as well as BNA for advice as they are quite active.

Hi Jon,

As you head up the south eastern freeway into the Adelaide Hills the populous suburbs go Eagle on the Hill, Crafers, Stirling, Aldgate, Bridgewater, Hahndorf, Mt Barker.

Eagle on the Hill is halfway up the hill, no facilities, pretty cheap.

Crafers is on the crest of the hill and is expensive since it's the closest real Hills suburb to the city (30 minutes on a bike for me). Plus the facilities are very basic.

Stirling is gorgeous but still expensive. I would live there if I could afford it. It's about 35 minutes to the city by bike for me (I am medium slow). Facilities are the best in the close Hills.

Aldgate next, getting cheaper, and now about 45 minutes to the city by bike for me. Facilities very good but not as good as Stirling.

I live in Bridgewater, where rents are around $300 per week for a basic 2 or 3 bedroom house, and it takes me 55 minutes to cycle down to the city. Facilities are good but not as good as Aldgate.

Hahndorf is a tourist nightmare for permanent residents and I wouldn't recommend it as a place to live.

Mt Barker is far, far away.

From Crafers/Stirling/Aldgate/Bridgewater it is an easy journey via Blackwood to Flinders Medical Centre.

I like living in the Hills because it is generally 5C cooler than the plain in hot weather, the surroundings are very beautiful with forests, vineyards, curvy roads, rolling hills etc., there are animals and birds everywhere, it's peaceful and quiet, and each night when I come home from work it's like going on holiday.

arkle

Biffidus wrote:Don't forget that Adelaide is really flat until you hit the foothills. a 30km commute to Mawson Lakes could put you anywhere from Gawler to Flagstaff Hill and quite a long way into the hills as well.

The Gawler Train line runs through Mawson Lakes and will take you and your bike. So realistically you could look at anywhere within riding distance to the train line, or do what I do and commute one way and catch the train home. Might be better to figure out where you'd like to ride and work backwards

Also, might be worth checking out the AdelaideCyclists.com forums as well as BNA for advice as they are quite active.

I was warned against living on a hill because it gets wet and windy in winter and was informed commuting was dangerous because there are no lights as well. I am used to commuting in wet and wind and not lights since I lived in the country at some stage but the roads were always quite empty. It might be different in Adelaide. So the plan would be to live at the foot hills in a family safe, affordable and peaceful location. I don't think I would need to be near the trains but that would be a plus but not necessary. Thanks for the link, I will give the website a go.

Jon

arkle wrote:Hi Jon,

As you head up the south eastern freeway into the Adelaide Hills the populous suburbs go Eagle on the Hill, Crafers, Stirling, Aldgate, Bridgewater, Hahndorf, Mt Barker.

Eagle on the Hill is halfway up the hill, no facilities, pretty cheap.

Crafers is on the crest of the hill and is expensive since it's the closest real Hills suburb to the city (30 minutes on a bike for me). Plus the facilities are very basic.

Stirling is gorgeous but still expensive. I would live there if I could afford it. It's about 35 minutes to the city by bike for me (I am medium slow). Facilities are the best in the close Hills.

Aldgate next, getting cheaper, and now about 45 minutes to the city by bike for me. Facilities very good but not as good as Stirling.

I live in Bridgewater, where rents are around $300 per week for a basic 2 or 3 bedroom house, and it takes me 55 minutes to cycle down to the city. Facilities are good but not as good as Aldgate.

Hahndorf is a tourist nightmare for permanent residents and I wouldn't recommend it as a place to live.

Mt Barker is far, far away.

From Crafers/Stirling/Aldgate/Bridgewater it is an easy journey via Blackwood to Flinders Medical Centre.

I like living in the Hills because it is generally 5C cooler than the plain in hot weather, the surroundings are very beautiful with forests, vineyards, curvy roads, rolling hills etc., there are animals and birds everywhere, it's peaceful and quiet, and each night when I come home from work it's like going on holiday.

arkle

Thanks Arkle, alot of good information I got from your post. Based on your review, I suppose Bridgewater, Aldgateand Eagle on the Hill are the ones I should consider if we lived on a hill. The 5deg C cooler temperature is certainly a plus plus point for us. I love the cool and certainly the closeness to the bush. At present, my backyard overlooks a national park and it is always cooler because of the trees. I am not keen to be close to tourist and the other places you mentioned seemd too expensive. I would love to pay $300/wk in rent. I never knew there were still rentals at that price.
Thanks again
Jon

What about places like Inglewood, Tea Tree Gully and if I was living in the foot hills, I thought the area around Highbury looks affordable yet convenient. Hill Bank also looks like a nice place to live with some nice views in the right street.

Jon

Yeah n/east is nice. Close to a hospital (modbury),and still only 20 mins from city. Roll down the hill to mawson. Golden grove/wyn vale/ salisbury heights has views, but not really acreage , like wise highbury/dernancourt, Vista, Banksia park.
i'm a little lower at Surrey downs.

I'm not sure what it's like further out of the city, but finding a dog friendly place close (<5km's out of the city mile square) has been tough.

rent is expensive around the city (I'm in Norwood and paying $400 for a 2bdrm semi that is pet friendly and allowed) but nextdoor is less for a 3bdrm but the fitout is circa 1950's, not pet friendly and unsure if pets were allowed.

someone mentioned (I have no idea whether this is true or not, so please don't shoot the messenger) that if you draw a west>east line at roughly Croydon Park and that's as far as you want to live north, with the exception of being on the coast. Semaphore looked really nice the one time I've visited it, and further north it's also quite nice. I spend a bit of time at dry creek and it's a bit... industrial, for my liking.

apart from cost of living being the same or slightly higher than Sydney (and I did live in the inner west, so it's comparable to Norwood) it's a nice place to live and an exceptional place in my opinion (although i don't have kids) to bring up a family.

I've been here about 5 months and apart from not doing much socially due to work, I'm enjoying it.

bracko wrote:I'm not sure what it's like further out of the city, but finding a dog friendly place close (<5km's out of the city mile square) has been tough.

rent is expensive around the city (I'm in Norwood and paying $400 for a semi that is pet friendly and allowed) but nextdoor is less for a 3bdrm but the fitout is circa 1950's, not pet friendly and unsure if pets were allowed.

someone mentioned (I have no idea whether this is true or not, so please don't shoot the messenger) that if you draw a west>east line at roughly Croydon Park and that's as far as you want to live north, with the exception of being on the coast. Semaphore looked really nice the one time I've visited it, and further north it's also quite nice. I spend a bit of time at dry creek and it's a bit... industrial, for my liking.

apart from cost of living being the same or slightly higher than Sydney (and I did live in the inner west, so it's comparable to Norwood) it's a nice place to live and an exceptional place in my opinion (although i don't have kids) to bring up a family.

I've been here about 5 months and apart from not doing much socially due to work, I'm enjoying it.

Thanks for the advise bracko. I am not looking to stay near the CBD. I like the bush and prefer to live near it. $400/wk is probably above what we would like to pay. We might consider buying if we decide to stay longer. We still have the issue of selling up in Sydney......

Jon

silkishuge wrote:

arkle wrote:Hi Jon,

As you head up the south eastern freeway into the Adelaide Hills the populous suburbs go Eagle on the Hill, Crafers, Stirling, Aldgate, Bridgewater, Hahndorf, Mt Barker.

Eagle on the Hill is halfway up the hill, no facilities, pretty cheap.

Crafers is on the crest of the hill and is expensive since it's the closest real Hills suburb to the city (30 minutes on a bike for me). Plus the facilities are very basic.

Stirling is gorgeous but still expensive. I would live there if I could afford it. It's about 35 minutes to the city by bike for me (I am medium slow). Facilities are the best in the close Hills.

Aldgate next, getting cheaper, and now about 45 minutes to the city by bike for me. Facilities very good but not as good as Stirling.

I live in Bridgewater, where rents are around $300 per week for a basic 2 or 3 bedroom house, and it takes me 55 minutes to cycle down to the city. Facilities are good but not as good as Aldgate.

Hahndorf is a tourist nightmare for permanent residents and I wouldn't recommend it as a place to live.

Mt Barker is far, far away.

From Crafers/Stirling/Aldgate/Bridgewater it is an easy journey via Blackwood to Flinders Medical Centre.

I like living in the Hills because it is generally 5C cooler than the plain in hot weather, the surroundings are very beautiful with forests, vineyards, curvy roads, rolling hills etc., there are animals and birds everywhere, it's peaceful and quiet, and each night when I come home from work it's like going on holiday.

arkle

Thanks Arkle, alot of good information I got from your post. Based on your review, I suppose Bridgewater, Aldgateand Eagle on the Hill are the ones I should consider if we lived on a hill. The 5deg C cooler temperature is certainly a plus plus point for us. I love the cool and certainly the closeness to the bush. At present, my backyard overlooks a national park and it is always cooler because of the trees. I am not keen to be close to tourist and the other places you mentioned seemd too expensive. I would love to pay $300/wk in rent. I never knew there were still rentals at that price.
Thanks again
Jon

Well yes but these are the suburbs that are actually alongside the freeway. Hence, by car, it is a VERY quick drive into the city. But they are all open leafy surrounded by forest stuffed with koalas countryside villages or small towns.

There are other suburbs in the Hills near here but they are away from the freeway. Slightly north of this corridor there is Greenhill Road, with Summertown, Uraidla, Carey Gully and eventually Balhannah. I can't tell you much about them other than that they are slightly more isolated, will probably have cheaper rentals, and are in beautiful countryside (I ride through these places every week). Do a google image search for some of these placenames and you'll see what I mean.

arkle

bracko wrote:I'm not sure what it's like further out of the city, but finding a dog friendly place close (<5km's out of the city mile square) has been tough.

rent is expensive around the city (I'm in Norwood and paying $400 for a 2bdrm semi that is pet friendly and allowed) ....

apart from cost of living being the same or slightly higher than Sydney (and I did live in the inner west, so it's comparable to Norwood) .....

, I'm enjoying it.

I'm not sure you could rent the same place (distance wise) from the city centre in Syd for $40/wk, so not a fair comparison.

Om all other counts, you are spot on.

Glad you are enjoying it (other than the too much work bit !!)

Jon,
Depending on your medical condition I prob wouldnt let the hospital factor sway your suburb choice north of the city as the 3 public hospitals out there i would probably avoid for anything acute (Lyel Mac, Modbury, Queen Elizabeth)... I would travel into the Royal Adelaide, or visit a private hospital if your required (although obviously in an ambulance u dont often get a choice!)...
U wil love riding around Adelaide!

Dr_Mutley wrote:Jon,
Depending on your medical condition I prob wouldnt let the hospital factor sway your suburb choice north of the city as the 3 public hospitals out there i would probably avoid for anything acute (Lyel Mac, Modbury, Queen Elizabeth)... I would travel into the Royal Adelaide, or visit a private hospital if your required (although obviously in an ambulance u dont often get a choice!)...
U wil love riding around Adelaide!

I am sure I will. After watching the TDU, it looked as though I will never be bored with places to ride. It looked even better than Melbourne. Its a hard choice between deciding Orange or Adelaide....... both great cycling and lifestyle places.

Jon

My 2 cents.

Have a look at the suburbs of Athelstone, Dernancourt, Highbury, Magill. All are at the foothills and many of the great Adelaide Hills rides have to pass through them to enter the hills.

The all in at least part have bush access / setting and access to hiking trails.

Those suburbs are well supplied by GP clinics with Modbury and Royal Adelaide close by. Adelaide compared to Sydney is small and travel time is nothing like Sydney.