ADELAIDE - South Australia.

ADELAIDE

South Australia

Henley Beach jetty. Pic by Allison O'Donoghue. 

Once again Adelaide has come up trumps. Last year The Lonely Planet guide voted Adelaide one of the best top 10 cities to visit in the world. And more recently the travel and accommodation website Wot If conducted a survey and again Adelaide won, its the best interstate city to visit. So come on down and check it out for yourself.

Adelaide is a pretty city. It has everything: stunning architecture, beautiful beaches, great food, all the usual brand stores, shopping centres and malls for shopaholics. It has a population of about 2.2 million with a total of 3 million in the whole state of South Australia. The population of the Eastern suburbs where I lived in Sydney is 3 million, so Adelaide is small by comparison.

Adelaide Hills. Pic by Jo Rowe. 

I left Adelaide Christmas 1980 due to lack of work opportunities and for an adventure. Adelaide just wasn’t exciting enough. Nothing happened. You had to make your own fun. Things were beginning to happen like the Adelaide Fringe Festival but it was in its infancy. However, year-on-year it has grown and is now an annual event, which attracts artists and acts from all over the world. Its such a successful festival that other states copied the formula and started their own Fringe festivals. Imitation is the best form of flattery.

I moved back to Adelaide 8 years ago. When I returned, I was excited about creating a new slower life after 25 years in Sydney, but also dreading it. It took me a long time to adjust to the slower pace, I pined for Sydney for about 5 years. I missed the vibe and energy. If you’re feeling sluggish and low in energy, you step outside and the city picks you up and carries you along. I also missed having more choices – to go out to a gig or a meal (other than fast food) anytime of the night. 

Brighton Beach. Pic by Jo Rowe.

The pub scene was still thriving in Adelaide during the 70's & 80’s. Every weekend you could go from one pub to another for a gig. Not so anymore. You’re hard pressed to find a good gig on a weekend, let alone mid week. The music scene is going through the doldrums, but this is not unique to Adelaide. I lived through the Sydney downturn and it hasn’t fully recovered. Musicians are still struggling to score a gig as most pubs stopped providing a venue for bands to play due to the gentrification of the city. So the music scene all moved to Melbourne, which has traditionally had a very strong live music culture however, they too are now suffering the same fate as Sydney. And there doesn’t seem to be any easy solution to fix the problem. When the gentry move in, up go the noise complaints. 

New York Dolls. Live at Fowlers. Pic by Allison O'Donoghue

I had to reinvent myself, so I joined this group and that group to get to know people, but that didn’t work, they wouldn’t let me play. I found that although people were very pleasant they were wary of outsiders even though I was a native of South Australia, it didn’t seem to matter. I was an expat. I was considered an outsider. We’ve gone global thanks to the Internet so it doesn’t really matter where you’ve come from or where you’ve been. Adelaide can be a bit parochial, provincial and nepotistic like any small place but they seem to be aware of it, and are making big efforts to change their mind set. The wheels turn slowly.

If you’re aged between the ages 25 - 45 it’s very difficult to get a job. Ageism. Maybe. But that’s not unique to Adelaide either - it appears to be a universal problem, you’re either too young or too old. I always think it’s a good idea for the youngins’ get out, go live interstate or overseas where the opportunities to get a decent job and earn good money are abundant. More importantly experience life in a big city and learn how to relate to people from all walks of life. You can always come back if it doesn’t work out. As for the older workers, well there are no easy answers. I’ve re-established myself, which I do annually. If you’re determined you can find your niche’ and achieve anything. Don’t take no for an answer and that old chestnut – don’t give up. Be prepared to take a financial hit, the wages are low in South Australia, however if you provide a service that everyone needs then you’ve got a good chance of making a buck and more importantly not working for someone else. So have a look around, see what’s lacking and start a business in a good area with a loads of foot traffic and you’ll make a motza.

Chinese gardens. Botanic Garden. Pic by Jo Rowe.

I toyed with the idea of moving back to Sydney or even Melbourne. I thought I wasn’t ready for the snail pace of life and the lack of anonymity. But I discovered I had slowly adjusted. I go back to Sydney at every opportunity, I was standing in line at a deli, I knew what I wanted but I hesitated for a second and foolishly said, “Ahmm”, she glared at me then yelled, “Next”. Hysterical, you hesitate for one second and you’re gone. It’s a tough town, but it’s a fair town. You always know where you stand in Sydney, its like any big city - sink or swim.

Adelaidians need to know that you’re going to stick around; otherwise they wont take a chance on you. This is a risky premise because if they don’t give a newcomer a chance they’ll be forced to leave. What choice do they have but to move back from whence they came? It happens time and time again. But things are changing, people are becoming more open and less protectionist. If you hang in there and stick it out the benefits are outstanding.

World music festival. WOMADelaide 2014. Pic by Allison O'Donoghue,

For a start it’s a fantastic place to raise children with loads of family friendly activities, parks and zoos. It's pushbike friendly, bike-riding lanes are everywhere, plus it’s flat with no undulating hills to climb, its very easy to get around. Speaking of which, the Adelaide Hills is a stunning day-trip with quaint colonel towns like the German settlement of Hahndorf dotted along the way. They specialise in all things Germanic and have oodles of antique shops along the high street. 

The beaches are pristine with no waves. That suits me. I was dumped every time I went for a swim at Bondi or Bronte, and I nearly drowned when a rip took me out to sea. I’d have to brace myself and reassure myself I’d come out alive. Suffice to say, it’s very reassuring to know that Adelaide beaches are as flat as a tack day-in-day-out and you know you wont get dumped or break your neck. Alright, so you might encounter a Great White shark or two, but you can see a fin coming for miles, and the Surf Life Saving Club do regular aerial and water patrols, if one is sighted an alarm goes off and everyone gets out. And big plus - there are no jellyfish. Well ok, there are jellyfish but they don’t come in droves to drive you out of the water screaming. They are pretty big and you can see them coming for miles too.  

Californian bungalows galore. 

Flat as tac. Henley Beach. Pic by Allison O'Donoghue.

Never over crowded. Henley Beach. Pic by Allison O'Donoghue. 

It takes 40 minutes to get around the city, depending on what time you leave the house. Peak hour is often brief. Transport infrastructure is improving every year. The extension of the tramline in the city has been a huge success and there are talks of extending it further. That’s another thing, the roads are really wide, plenty of room for everyone. Real estate is inexpensive, but that’s because the wages are so low, they cannot charge big prices as no one can afford it. So if you’ve got deep pockets then buying real estate in South Australia is a very good investment. The houses are beautiful, loads of Californian bungalows with big backyards on ¼ acre blocks with plenty of room for a swimming pool. And if your into DIY there are plenty of renovator’s delights to get your teeth into. There is a feeling of space in Adelaide, your not living on top of each other, and another big plus - very little pollution.

Rundle Mall. Pic by Jo Rowe.

The food is fantastic. Produce is locally sourced so you know you are supporting local industries whenever you eat out. Adelaide Central markets is the best place to source locally grown or international products. You can get anything you like there - its huge. Funky cafes are everywhere and little side street bars are popping up all over the place - 10 people and its a full house, very intimate. Most of the pubs have undergone major renovations, although sadly not all of them have provided an area for live entertainment, lack of foresight there. Historically, when the economic chips are down, like it is now, people need entertaining and going to a gig is one of the best pick me ups. That’s an opportunity going begging, creating nightclubs and venues for live music. You’ll be inundated with punters and never short of bands. For a small city, Adelaide produces great music.

When you're done checking out the city its only a short day-trip to the excellent wine growing regions of the Riverland and McLaren Vale as well as the Barossa Valley where the best wines in the world are grown and produced. Stock up while your there wine tasting.

Grapes on the vine. Pic by Jo Rowe.

Then there’s the festival season - Mad March - where they cram all the festivals into one month: the Adelaide Fringe festival, the Adelaide festival, and the world music festival WOMADelaide. And for all the rev heads there is the Clipsal motor racing, as well as a horse racing carnival. Some festivals have moved to a later in the year so as not to clash, such as the Adelaide Film Festival, which is a smart move. Its impossible to go to everything, so spreading out events over the year makes financial sense.

Adelaide city centre. Pic by Jo Rowe.

Throughout the year there are plenty of music festivals and international gigs. Adelaide once missed out on the big gigs but not anymore thanks in part to the new airport that expanded to accommodate big crowds, and now attracts high profile acts that would otherwise bypass Adelaide for the bigger cities. The airport runs like a well-oiled machine with 85% of take-offs and landings on schedule (we even topped that list too). Suffice to say bands sell out every time they visit Adelaide. So all you bands out there put Adelaide on your list of cities to play and set up a gig, it goes off. Guaranteed success.

Then there is my favourite pastime, scouring all the op shops, second hand shops and vintage clothing stores for gems. I never come out empty handed.

The weather is great too. Yes, it gets very hot in summer over 40 degrees which can last for weeks but the beaches are so close it’s only a short trip to paradise to cool down and buy an ice cream. There are so many beaches to choose from dotted along the coastline, you could make an itinerary and still not cover  all them. They never get over overcrowded, they are so long there’s plenty of room for everyone.  There is even a nudist beach – Maslins – for all you pervs or risk takers. 

I love New Years Eve on the beach. People pitch tents and set up plastic table and chairs and dine out while wading in the sea, that’s how flat the surf is. Surfers don't despair, there are waves down south at the old whaling town of Victor Harbour or you could go further to down the coast for your own private beach with fewer crowds so you won’t have to compete for waves.

I’ve adjusted. I wouldn’t live anywhere else now. Unless a great job lures me away, Adelaide is my base. When I travel interstate or OS, I'm always glad to come home. Adelaide is a pretty little city with so much to offer. Get down here and experience a slice of the good life and decide for yourself.

Beautiful old buildings. Pic by Jo Rowe.

Adelaide Markets. Pic by Jo Rowe.

Adelaide city. Pic by Jo Rowe.

Brighton Beach. Pic by Jo Rowe

Pristine water. Pic by Allison O'Donoghue.

Plenty of room. Henley Beach. Pic by Allison O'Donoghue.

Henley Beach. Pic by Allison O'Donoghue.

WOMADelaide 2014.