Life in Adelaide

Culture and Leisure in Adelaide

One of the advantages of living in Adelaide, as opposed to merely visiting as a tourist, is the chance to partake in more than one of the festivals that the city has to offer. The most popular of these is undoubtedly the Adelaide Festival, which has been running for over 50 years and is world-renowned for its focus on the arts. Typically on display are a plethora of different performances, including operas, music concerts, literature readings, plays, and documentaries, amongst others.

Of course, it’s not all about the festivals: Adelaide also boasts a wide range of other excursion opportunities, including parks, museums, sporting venues, and natural and historical landmarks. One popular attraction is the Art Gallery of South Australia; with over 35 thousand artworks, it is Australia’s second biggest state art collection. The gallery is located on North Terrace, one of Adelaide’s most well-known boulevards. Also located on the boulevard is Parliament House, the seat of government for the whole of South Australia, which permits visitors to take a look inside during regular tours around the building. North Terrace is further home to a wide range of other important tourist attractions, including the South Australia Museum, the city’s Holy Trinity Church, Government House (home to the governor of South Australia), the National War Memorial, South Australia’s State Library, the Adelaide Convention Centre, and the old railway station building, to name just a few.

Expatriates in Adelaide may also enjoy a visit to the Adelaide Botanic Garden, which is well-known for its bicentennial conservatory. At over 300 feet long, it comes in as the largest such conservatory in the southern hemisphere. Besides the conservatory, the garden is also home to a number of historical buildings and sculptures, and also contains a wide range of exotic flora. For exotic fauna, however, it’s probably best to pay a visit to the Adelaide Zoo, Australia’s second oldest zoo, which houses almost  2,500 animals belonging to 250 different species, many of whom are native to the island. In addition, the zoo also contains its very own botanical garden, home to many significant and rare species of plant.

Transportation in Adelaide

The fact that Adelaide has consistently been voted as one of the most livable cities in the world probably comes as no surprise to locals. Several factors are taken into account when deciding which city is going to top the list, including the standard of education, the city’s financial stability, the standard of healthcare, the city’s focus on culture, and finally, the city’s infrastructure, including its transportation services.

It’s this final criterion that is so impressive about Adelaide; its transport infrastructure. Indeed, with its wide, straight roads and simple street plan, Adelaide certainly beats most other world cities hands down when it comes to driving around with minimal stress. However, the South Australian capital also has a wide range of other transport options for anybody considering life in Adelaide.

The city’s bus service, for instance, provides cheap, regular, and efficient services to almost all parts of the city. In fact, in the city center there’s even a free bus service, which takes you around the most popular and well-known parts of the city (ideal for a quick tour of some of the most popular attractions). Alternative transportation options include a tram service (although only one tram route remains – along the seaside) and a trains service, which also provides efficient and value for money service to most parts of the city.

For traveling further afield, Adelaide railway station acts as the terminus for many routes across the whole of Australia, including routes to Darwin, Melbourne, and Alice Springs, amongst others. For international travel, Adelaide Airport provides internal flights to most Australian cities, as well as international flights to Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Auckland, and Dubai, to name a few. For flights to the United States and Europe, it’s probably best to get an internal flight to Sydney and fly from Sydney Airport, Australia’s biggest airport. Airlines using the airport include Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand, and Cathay Pacific, amongst others.

Education in Adelaide

For those expats choosing to relocate to Adelaide by themselves or only with a partner, the city’s education system is unlikely to be of concern. However, for those who are planning a life in Adelaide with families or expecting children, education is, of course, of paramount importance. Luckily, as a city of around 1.3 million people, Adelaide provides a lot of choice when it comes to schools.

However, one disadvantage of schooling in Adelaide, and in Australia as a whole, are the  tuition fees. Whether you send your child to a state school, a Catholic school, or a private school, a minimum fee of around 200 AUD will need to be paid, which may vary depending on the school year, and of course will be higher for private education.

Something else that needs to be taken into account is the difference in school term dates in Australia. A school year runs from January to December, and is split into four terms, with the summer holiday taking place over Christmas (due to reversed seasons in the southern hemisphere). For higher education, Adelaide also contains three universities; the University of Adelaide, Flinders University, and the University of South Australia, of which the University of Adelaide is generally ranked highest (around eighth overall in Australia).