Fritzi
Reviews
"Perfect place to live except for one thing..."
As a student I was always slightly jealous of those lucky souls living in North Adelaide. Of course, there are student colleges and share houses here too - plenty of people did live here as a student. It is a gorgeous area that is not beyond anyone's means due to a wide range of accommodation, from mansions to studio flats.
It's true what everyone says about the lifestyle. It's fantastic to be within walking distance of the city and the Torrens, Festival Theatre, Zoo, Botanic Gardens etc etc, and lots of great cafes and restaurants, boutiques and bars right here in North Adelaide.
But now that I do actually live here I have discovered what, for me, is the fatal flaw. Something that wasn't here years ago. North Adelaide is now right under the flight path for Adelaide Airport and planes come through from early morning to late night, at the worst just five or ten minutes apart, close enough to block the sun in the window and throw a shadow over the place as they pass. Loud enough that you have to turn up the TV or rewind the DVD to get the bit of dialogue that you missed. We have a great outdoor space here but it's horrid to sit in with the planes passing all the time.
We feel like Darryl Kerrigan in The Casltle and keep saying to each other "Aaah The Serenity" to try and keep a sense of humour about it, but in reality we are now looking at the suburbs east of Adelaide where the same lifestyle can be had but without the flight path.
Having been living and working interstate for a decade and missed the change that brought the planes over North Adelaide, we discovered that there is little sympathy for residents from the wider Adelaide population. True, this is still one of the most affluent suburbs in Adelaide and people seem to think it's funny that millionaires have to put up with planes but the fact is, people who choose to buy close to the airport know they will have to put up with being under the flight path. I had never envisioned that lovely, leafy North Adelaide would come under the flight path and it has ruined it for me. Adelaide in general has a lovely outdoor climate. I suspect perhaps the place will become more affordable for students, as fewer people with bigger budgets will want to live here. No point having a lovely garden to sit or entertain in when you have to shout at people to be heard.
Who lives here?
- Professionals
- Singles
My partner and I moved in 2 months ago and we love the planes flying overhead. It's been like that as long as we can remember visiting North Adelaide so it wasn't a surprise for us. I think there's something nice about seeing the different kinds of aircraft zooming over. Plus the varied and plentiful bird life in North Adelaide is amazing... it more than makes up for the intermittent noise.
It's a nice area to live in.I don't know much about the local Primary School these days in that area though but when I was there from 1985 to 1989 with a few exceptions of some local people Most of the students were from Northern Suburbs whose parents wanted something a little better than what their local area can provide them so not all bad except for having to leave that place to go to St Andrews Walkerville Being an Atheist in those days made me very uncomfortable about the whole religious education lessons and weekly Church Services but that's another story of my life.We nearly bought a house not far from NAPS around the time I started Year 2 there but for unknown reason Getting My Father to sell up and get out from the shame that is Salisbury was harder than one can imagine.
I doubt land values will go down, unless perhaps the very south west corner of upper North Adelaide.
Flight noise largely is based on assessing decibels and a scheme of ANEF 20 - ANEF 35 is used (ANEF 35 being the worst) .
Most of upper North Adelaide, like Medindie, is ANEF 20 and the core flight path gets around 60-70 decibels of external noise (perhaps 80 on rare occasions), which drops down around a further 10 decibels further out. It is probably a bit of an issue at the moment because the airport has increased flight numbers without yet having largely cycled over of the various fleets being used, but fleet changeovers happen progressively and the next one (this year to 2022) will likely drop noise by around 8-10 decibels which will move a fair bit of upperNorth Adelaide entirely out of ANEF 20 - ie there will be no real airplane noise issue (in simple words - North Adelaide is largely at the end of the affected flight path and so when plains get quieter, which they do consistently every decade, it will fall out of the affected area).
I lived there 20 years ago, early 2000's it was in the flight path then. I found I got used to it. Maybe the curfews have changed? Looking to move back so thanks for your honest review
My mother's moved into a care place in North Adelaide, which means that we have spent a lot of time there lately. The planes are dreadful! As Fritzi says, you can't hear the TV for example, or talk. And that's inside. Outside must be a lot worse. I'm writing this at a time when presumably there are a lot less planes flying from the peak times pre COVID. If they return, then it'll be pretty awful.
I live here. Having lived in other Adelaide metro suburbs in the past (including 15 years in exclusive Medindie), I believe this is Adelaides ultimate lifestyle location. The beautifully kept abundant parklands, the large array of eateries, the friendly people, the closeness to the CBD and beaches, and the fact that values keep doubling every decade makes it a perfect place to live. I consider myself highly privileged to be living in North Adelaide .
Thank you for your honest opinion you saved me a lot of trouble and expense. I only wish people that live in the suburb could be the only ones to comment, tired of people that don’t or haven’t even lived in the suburb having an opinion because it can give you a false sense of the suburb. Many many thanks