Adelaide. The capital of South Australia. The city that is currently my home.
Here are some of my (random) first impressions of Adelaide:
1. Beach, city, hills.
There is such a good balance of, well, everything. I lived in Glasgow for four years and disliked the fact there was no beach. I lived in Nice for nine months and it was perfect but there wasn’t that quick escape to the countryside. In Adelaide, I have all of this. I guess my fortune here ties in with the fact the suburb I live in is in such a good location – a 10 minute drive from the city, 20 minutes from the beach and also about 20 minutes from the hills.
2. Adelaide is SO SMALL.
But also big. I went to the top of Mount Lofty in my first week here (we cheated and drove up, I’ll do the walk one day!). This is a spot where you get a great view of Adelaide… and can see how tiny the CBD really is. Beyond the city however is suburbs upon suburbs upon suburbs. Which is obviously still Adelaide, but are also very much classified under their specific suburb name as distinct locations, so, in my view, Adelaide is tiny.
3. Traffic lights and multiple lane roads (almost) EVERYWHERE.
In Adelaide, the roads quite frankly can’t handle the traffic; it takes forever to get anywhere despite everything being close. Most roads are straight roads, which should make travel fast and efficient, but this is not the case here. For example, the beach is a mere 14km away from my home yet takes at least 20 minutes to drive to. Ridiculous. The problem is there are traffic lights everywhere, there is not even an alternative fast route – even if you drive the road at the edge of the city, you still get stuck constantly. Plus, when you go the wrong way (as I frequently do!) it is so difficult to turn back on yourself because it is all traffic lights and multi lanes. Driving in Adelaide is so frustrating!
4. Adelaide is very GREEN.
There are so many Park Lands in Adelaide, surrounding the city centre, separating the CBD from the many suburbs beyond. I love the Park Lands – it is easy to just go chill with a book, or cycle through (there are paths through them all) to get into the city and avoid the big scary roads. The Park Lands connect through their paths, and each park has a different name and number – there are 29 different parks.
5. Cycling galore.
There are cycle lanes almost everywhere. From the big wide multi lane roads to the Park Lands to the suburbs. There are plenty bike racks all over so there’s no need to fret about where to abandon your bike either. So, cycling has become my new favourite way to get around – no need to pay for parking, you can get some exercise, and it is so much faster than walking. It’s great. Although I did almost get decked by a guy opening his van door the other day ( had I been 1 second faster and had a camera on me it literally would have been one of those ‘video goes viral’ moments).. apparently I was ‘going too fast’, so you gotta be careful. Woops.
6. The people of Adelaide don’t take advantage of the outdoors.
It is rare to see the people of Adelaide enjoying the sunshine, chilling in the parks or at the beach. Or if they do, they go straight for the shade. I guess I can’t really blame them considering the lack of Ozone layer in Australia, but I just love the sun (when wearing factor 50 of course)!!!! I am a Scottish gal and I am more tanned than most people here.. (mainly just from walking around!).
7. There are a lot of beautiful beaches.
Did you know that I love the beach? Well, guess what, I really freaking love the beach! I have many beaches still to visit but Glenelg beach is fab and is kind of the beach hub, whereas some km further away is Westbeach which I really love, but is so quiet even on a beautiful hot day! There is a long stretch of beaches going from Seacliff Bay to Grange Beach, within which lies Glenelg and Westbeach. <3
8. Eerie night-time suburbs.
So quiet, so dark. It is not like living in a city at all. There are (basically) no street lights, just darkness. You must shine you phone to try not trip over the uneven pavement. As soon as you hit the suburbs there is no noise of loud city traffic (I guess that’s good for sleeping but it’s strange when walking home). I’ve never been afraid of walking home alone in the dark in any city, at whatever ridiculous time of night (or morning), but I would much rather not. Not that I feel unsafe as such, it’s just so creepy! Where are all the lights?!
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In Adelaide there are also so many: bungalow houses, private (single sex) schools, reckless drivers, ED SHEERAN SONGS on the radio.
(Plus so much more, but upon first arrival these were the top things I noticed – there is a lot more to Adelaide than this list here!)
So, my first impressions of Adelaide – good or bad? Such a mixture, and such a random list here. But I really love Adelaide so far and am excited to be spending more time here!!
