Adelaide

mxh

Likes Dirt
We (my wife and I, no kids) have the option to move to Adelaide in the new year. New job would be in Hindmarsh. Currently living on the Sydney Upper North Shore and enjoying the proximity to the bush, a good riding scene etc, but the place is rather lacking in any nightlife (not that we want to be out every night, but would be nice not to have to drive everywhere). We also like the idea of living by the beach (Henley Beach, Glenelg etc), and it looks like the commute would be easy either by bike (most days) or public transport / car if necessary.

However, the problem that I see is that we'd be a fair way from the bike trails - google maps is suggesting 40 minutes to Eagle park, which I suppose isn't too bad, but it's not quite the 'ride from home' setup we have at the moment.

So for all you Adelaide based people - putting aside budget (it matters, but lets not get bogged down with it), where would be the optimum suburb for proximity to beach, MTB trails, a bit of nightlife (or easy ability to get to it) and bike commutability to Hindmarsh?
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Funnily enough, Hindmarsh.

Hindmarsh, Brompton, Thebarton are all going through development pains due to being so close to the CBD, after being the suburbs to avoid for years.

Beaches and MTB trails are literally on opposite sides of the CBD. So one will always compromise the other. But don't despair, it's Adelaide not Sydney. If it takes more than half hour to get to the foothills you've picked the wrong road.
 

safreek

*******
Brompton used to be a really cool suburb, savoury and unsavoury type characters. Then the developers came and ripped the heart out of the inner city. Trendy fuckwits everywhere now.
Probs best to move to Salisbury or Elizabeth, nice flat roads for a decent commute to work.
 

mxh

Likes Dirt
Then the developers came
Hmm, not really interested in living in a modern rabbit hutch. Being a bit 'old skool', ideally a house with double garage on a reasonable (500 sqm plus) plot.

Probs best to move to Salisbury or Elizabeth, nice flat roads for a decent commute to work.
Don't mind a 10k commute, but 20+ each way is pushing it a bit. What's so good about these places that would make that sort of commute worthwhile?
 

droenn

Fat Man's XC President
Don't mind a 10k commute, but 20+ each way is pushing it a bit. What's so good about these places that would make that sort of commute worthwhile?
They're yanking your chain.

I spent a bit of time in Elizabeth - there isn't much going for it. It's had a lot of social problems over the years - a lot of English migration that brought a lot of alcohol and domestic violence problems along with it. Basically it used to be a satellite city, with some manufacturing which has died off (e.g. the Holden's plant stands empty there now). Suburbs have expanded in all directions from it these days, so its no longer as isolated. It still has issues, but its cleaned up a lot as people have bought and settled in the area. Unfortunately, the public transport options are crap, so the whole place is dependent on the car - and all the "On the Runs" are testament to how much the spread of the city north and southwards have created a driving-only culture.

My favourite suburb is Prospect - which I think has the best blend of services and location. I spent a good few years there too, you can walk to get your groceries still, and decent cafes etc. to meet people at. Suburbs like Blair Athol and along Churchill Rd are all changing rapidly, but I think make good options for families now - and should still get nice house with big backyard there. You can avoid a lot of the main traffic issues going from Prospect-Hindmarsh too.

I never MTB'd in SA though, so I've got not idea of the proximity to trails. I'm guessing they are all east though, so even though Adelaide is a small city, sometimes the traffic is horrendous for the distance you need to go...

Norwood is nice too, but that would require a cross-city commute...
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Thanks @droenn I used to be southern Adelaide, don't know enough about Out North to make that call.

*disclaimer* We made a tree change 8 years ago, but we're over there at least twice a year.

15km south of Adelaide lands you around Brighton, Marion, and the Southern foothills like Flagstaff Hill and Aberfoyle Park.

Marion has a huge Westfield Shopping Centre, but from there back towards the city is all ex-Housing Trust and the developers are ripping in.

But, Brighton, Flaggy, and Aberfoyle Park I think are what you're looking for. They're all well established, all stable, Brighton has a train line running through the middle and the beach lifestyle of Glenelg with a slightly lower price tag.

Flaggy is Old Upper Middle Class. Aberfoyle is the offspring of them, and my old stomping ground. It's about half an hour (down) from Mt Lofty on the roadie, Crafers/Lofty being the home of Eagle MTB park. There's a couple of bike parks in between too, although Riding to Fox Creek is a big stretch.

The thing with Adelaide is unless you're living in the foothills, it's pancake flat. I used to do 30km from Aberfoyle to Woodville 4 days out of 5. It's all grid based, so with a bit of exploring you can find a fairly direct route without excessive traffic. Although coming from Sydney, you may not notice.

Right now there is a metric shit-tonne of redevelopment going on in the 10-15km radius, you may struggle to find old and established where you want it to be.
 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Now I've had a look on Trailforks, Sturt Gorge, Mitcham Trails and Belair Nat Park are all in between
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
Shit tonnes of awesome riding within easy distance in Adelaide. Best trail network next to a city in Oz, IMO.
 

Nambra

Definitely should have gone to specsavers
Lived in SA from ‘98 through ‘06 and most of last year too. If you want beach and biking I think you should take Cardy George’s advice. Brighton, Seaton back up into the hills around Belair is the go. Mitcham Council is pretty progressive with mtb, and you have Shepard’s Hill, Craigburn Farm and Lynton trails nearby, with a fair amount of elevation to play with. I’ve seen kids belt down the hill from Belair to Mitcham on old DH trails then shuttle back up on the train.

I’d personally choose Belair if i ever went back, as the elevation makes it cooler in summer, it’s nice and leafy (if a bit fire prone) and you can scoot around to Crafers to get to Eagle or out to Fox Creek. The only thing lacking is night life - if that’s important then I’d be heading closer to town. I spent most of my time in North Adelaide and it was a shitload of fun - at least a dozen pubs within walking distance, great eating on O’Connell Street and Melbourne Street, walk to/from town, Fringe, East End etc. I used to walk down to “The Gov” on Port Road in Hindmarsh back in the day to watch bands like The Cruel Sea. The city goes nuts in February and March with Fringe, but I find it subdued at other times.

Other suggestions would be somewhere along the “river” to the North East - Walkerville is pretty funky now, out through Vale Park, Klemzig. Plenty of buses, plus Linear Park is a cycle commuter favourite. You can ride out 15km to the foothills along the river and scoot over to Anstey Hill.

As droenn says, the roads are bloody annoying. The place is like one big suburb, all 60km/h and lights at every intersection complete with red light and speed cameras. Average speed is atrocious and they are some of the worst drivers I’ve come across in Australia - prone to aggro with little provocation.

I do like SA though, and met some awesome people and had a blast there in my late 20’s & early 30’s.
 
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ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
I’d personally choose Belair if i ever went back, as the elevation makes it cooler in summer, it’s nice and leafy (if a bit fire prone) and you can scoot around to Crafers to get to Eagle or out to Fox Creek.
Good choice ^^^ Moved to Belair 18 months ago. Its surrounded by MTB trails, Belair NP, Lynton, Andos, Craigburn Farm, Sturt Gorge, Sheps Hill ect... you can link these all together including some of the others like O'Halloran Hill and Eagle MTB park. Fox creek is ride able but it's a decent loop, better to drive there.

Belair area would only 15-20min commute to Hindmarsh... on the way there, on the way home the last 5km rises from 30m to 310m so you get your fitness hit after working all day, I would guess the commute home would be around 45mins.

I commute regular to the other side of Port Ade so pass through Hindmarsh depending on the route I take, probably 15km each way from Belair.

Nightlife... Belair Hotel is popular and both here and Blackwood are packed with nice places to eat, loads of takeaway options and coffee shops. Unley road and the Mitcham area has quite a few nice pubs... cant go wrong living anywhere in Mitcham area really.
 

Nambra

Definitely should have gone to specsavers
I forgot to mention the Belair Hotel ozzy - good pub. Only real barrier to me having any future there is finding enough work in SA and my wife (who is a crow eater) being shit-scared of driving up Belair Road!
 
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Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
I forgot to mention the Belair Hotel ozzy - good pub. Only real barrier to me having any future there is finding enough work in SA and my wife (who is a crow eater) being shit-scared of driving up Belair Road!
Wow, at least your wife will drive in Adelaide. Since we moved to the country Mrs George point blank refuses to.

Back in my roadie days she and I had an agreement that I walked down Old Belair Rd, ran down Windy Point, and caught the bus down Flagstaff Hill. I was never allowed to mention my average speed down the three of them was 65-70 kmh :D

I miss the hills :(.
 
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ozzybmx

taking a shit with my boobs out
my wife (who is a crow eater) being shit-scared of driving up Belair Road!
Haha... well mine has no choice as my house is on Belair road, not far from the top though. When I can gather the energy I try to ride up the 20% Caroline bike path when commuting but sometimes after a 12h nightshift it's worth the risk to mix it with morning peak hour on Belair road, saying that, Old Belair Rd (the other one) is suicide to ride up at anytime.
 

mxh

Likes Dirt
Thanks guys - some good info there. We'll be going there for a look around sometime soon so will visit some of the areas mentioned.

But don't like the sound of the traffic - that's one reason we want to get away from Sydney!
 

boyracer

Likes Dirt
I'm in Unley about 3 km from CBD and 5 -6 km from Hindmarsh.
Unley or Goodwood would be my pick. Not 'close' to beach though @ 9 kms... I used to fast fixie commute to beachside Glenelg in < 20 minutes...flat as fuck. I ride up Cross road or Greenhill to access the hills, the start of climbs is 20 mins away...a nice warm up. My fav pub is near Hindmarsh, the Wheaty, and I ride there casual pace in < 15 mins on predominately bike tracks. This southside area close to the city is well sorted for tracks, dirt and bitumen, which makes it an easy roll to work or play.
I used to work in Glenelg for 10 years. I owned a couple of businesses in the area and was often there 7 days a week ...so kinda lived there. It is not a great spot for socialising , commuting or shopping IMO. Way too much ingress of tourists, bogans and assholes on summer nights /weekends. I'm sure there are nice pockets, but check it out at various times of the week would be my advice.
Belair / Blackwood reminds me of Wahroonga area where i lived for a bit. I know what you mean about access. Bro-in-law has a pad at Allambie and Manly Dam is at the end of his road.
 

Nambra

Definitely should have gone to specsavers
Thanks guys - some good info there. We'll be going there for a look around sometime soon so will visit some of the areas mentioned.

But don't like the sound of the traffic - that's one reason we want to get away from Sydney!
Oh the traffic is fine mxh, peak hour is more like 20 minutes. It's just that aren't many major thoroughfares like on the east coast; it is improving slowly though - stopping at lights all the time is frustrating if you're used to 80+km/h roads into a city.

I like the drive up and down Old Belair Road ozzy, but yeah, buggered if I'd be riding it!
 
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