Best suburb to raise a young, growing family?

Coming from Sydney to Adelaide, even with a Million in your pocket, is a rude shock. Not because we're some country back water but because you suddenly realise that you have options that you've never considered before.

$1M in Adelaide can buy a lot of real estate if spent right. And a lot of people will tell you how to spend it - Eastern Suburbs, try and squeeze yourself into something like Linden Park PS and then Glenunga High and what they don't tell you is you've simply gone from one rat race to Adelaide's version.

My recommendation (and I spent my fair share of time in NSW), is to come and rent. Visit areas that you think you may like, keeping in mind the following:

- The beach is 20 mins drive from any suburb in Adelaide so unless you *love* it, you don't have to live on it to enjoy it.
- Same goes for the hills. We very literally have Conservation Parks in our back gardens!
- There are cafe strips everywhere! And the best cafes are often where you least expect them. From Norwood (which is nothing like it used to be (Little Italy) to Torrensville (which is still Little Greece), there are areas that will surprise and delight you across the entire city.
- It's hard to say any suburb is or isn't safe. I've lived in Rose Park and had syringes in my front yard. I've lived and worked in Elizabeth and never been broken into or mugged ever. North Adelaide persistently has the highest rates of car theft.
- Adelaide is full of parks. Compared to Sydney, we're green and clean.
- Public transport is the issue here. If you have to get to the CBD, you want to be either a) near a train corridor or b) the O-Bahn. It takes 20 mins to get from Tea Tree Plaza in peak. It takes 40 mins from Rostrevor.
- Eastern Suburbs (actually, the West too) all suffer from a lack of Shopping Centres (Arndale is horrid). So it's either Marion madness or TTP. If malls aren't your thing, most suburbs have the obligatory Coles/Woolies/Foodland + specialty combos nearby.
- Do your NBN research - some areas got fibre, some didn't many are still on Cable and ADSL and some have Satellite (yep).

4 bedroom homes are not common in Adelaide, not close to the city anyway. Block sizes for a 4 bedroom tend to be around 500sqm in new estates. The new trend is to either buy an existing home in a preferred area, demolish and build a new big home or extend the existing home (especially if heritage). This may be an option particularly in the Eastern Suburbs. Demolishing is more common in the modern housing stock.

Questions you need to ask are:

- What type of schooling? Public, Catholic, Lutheran or Private (usually Uniting/Methodist) or Other? These can have huge impacts on your location and wait lists on all schools (including public) can be long and include zones and entrance exams.
- What type of extra curriculars? Horse riders may prefer to be in the NE, sailors in the West, surfers in the South.
- Religion and culture - Adelaide is extremely diverse but we still have our historical ties - Italy East, Greece West, India N/NE, Vietnam N/NW etc. If accessing the right community facilities are important, this will play a role.