City living - what's your experience?

[Wayno]

Hey SensAdders, who among us live in the city? And what are your observations, likes, dislikes, wishes, etc? Be it practical daily stuff, or visionary desires.

Well I'm glad I asked!

I live on Gilles St, near Hutt St. The sense of community, on my side of the street, is unparalleled to anywhere I've lived in Adelaide metro region. I'm in 1 of ~12 adjacent cottages and terraces, all with garden front yards and on-street parking. There's almost always neighbours chatting and laughing with each other. Plenty of front-yard and on-footpath impromptu gatherings. Even strangers wandering past feel compelled to engage. Quite amazing. Most interesting is the contrast with the other side of the street which are mostly modern-ish townhouses, each with private front yard consumed by a car space and roller doors shielding them from the outside world. Being a friendly type I've waved hello to a few of these 'other siders' but they appear not interested, and are often seen scurrying to their letter boxes, avoiding eye contact, and scurrying back inside - Quasimodo-style. Most odd. Can the style of accommodation really affect people that much?

My biggest complaint is with the sizeable minority of drivers who use Gilles St as a racetrack, probably trying to make up 'lost time' caused by the Hutt St 40km/h zone. Some traffic calming measures would be good.

When I first moved in I was surprised how quiet the SE corner is after midnight, just the occasional (1-2 times a week) passing parade of drunken revellers. No biggie.

My neighbours and I sometimes suffer from theft. Never leave anything in the front yard - it will grow legs and wander away. I'm yet to receive a postcard from my directors chair.

My only other complaint is not a city-specific issue. My immediate neighbour feeds the pigeons, all of them! Her backyard is covered in seed & husks, and there's 100s of birds & crap literally everywhere. Sigh. The ACC have spoken with her a couple of times from a public health perspective, but they are apparently powerless to take action.

Oh, and probably not common knowledge, but if you own a heritage building the council will pay half, yes 50%, of costs associated with restoring to original condition. For local heritage places, such as bluestone cottages, they will co-fund restoration work for anything you can see from the street - so stonemasonry, windows, door, verandah, fence, roof, guttering, painting, etc. Can be a big $$$ saving if the property is in need of significant works.

Of course there's a multitude of cafés, pubs and restaurants in walking distance, and I love the free bike hire system. Have used it many times. So convenient, and amazing how social it is - you naturally make eye contact with pedestrians and other cyclists, and smiles are freely given and received. More bikes & paths please.

My daily jog (well most days) in the parklands is fantastic. I no longer feel they are underused. There's always heaps of people dwelling and wandering through. I would, however, like the southern parklands to be generally more manicured, and attractions & convenience introduced to entice people to dwell longer - because I would.

[arki]

How long have you been living there?

[jk1237]

I moved to the city just over a year ago. Just east of Hutt Street, near Halifax. I love it and also note that the sense of community is also very strong. There are also little kids and toddlers (supervised ofcourse) that play down the end of my narrow little street, just like we used to do growing up as a little kid in 80s in the suburbs. Whenever my mother comes for her fortnightly nosey, she can't get over the amount families with small children living in the city. Not really that surprising to me. There seems to be an Italian family that own about 5 old houses in a row along Halifax, just east of Alfonsos. I bet that bought them for next to nothing in the 50s and 60s, now they would be worth millions. Anyway they are always constantly outside chatting to everyone and saying hello to passerbys. Even their cat wants to play with you.

There are also a few townhouses on my street where the entire frontage is their garage. They drive their V8's and SUV's in and out by pressing a button, with no contact with the outside world, whereas the other houses it appears that walking is the norm. This is why I prefer the crappy student accommodation blocks over luxury apartments. Luxury apartments add virtually nothing to the street vibe and the city, whereas the students live and breath the city streets, retail, bars, restuarants, cafes etc. Less focus on luxury apartments and more focus on middle class affordable to 20 something peoples is so much better, however unfortunately the market dictates what is the best return for developers. But when you see that the more affordable Stage 1 of Ergo sold out in a flash, hopefully that sends a signal.

And yes, my city street is so much quieter compared to where I used to live - near Payneham Rd at Stepney.

Only negatives is having Good Life Pizza within a short walking distance. They're so nice but a bit expensive. Also having Cibo nearby which stays open until 10pm each night is also an issue for my bank account. There has been many studies by urbanists that residents who walk and cycle, spend over double the amount in their local community economy than those who drive their cars absolutely everywhere

[AG]

Only negatives is having Good Life Pizza within a short walking distance. They're so nice but a bit expensive. Also having Cibo nearby which stays open until 10pm each night is also an issue for my bank account. There has been many studies by urbanists that residents who walk and cycle, spend over double the amount in their local community economy than those who drive their cars absolutely everywhere

There's probably some truth to this - I was staying a friend's place in South Brisbane for about a week around Easter, and noticed that I tended to spend a lot on eating out while I was there. The complete opposite to the modern housing estate where I currently live in Gladstone which is completely lifeless and you have to drive everywhere - I struggle to find anything worth spending money on here and the retail sector is far smaller than it should be.

[monotonehell]

I lived on that same Giles/Hutt corner as Wayno back in the late '90s early '00s, just behind the Arab Steed. My experience was very much like you guys. On the weekends it was quieter than the suburbs at night. There was a real small town community feel about the Hutt Street area. I think you're right that the people who live in those fortress style townhouses are very anti-social.

I'm now living at the corner of Frome and Rundle. Noise is ... noisy here. I don't think many people could live with it. If you think Hutt Street's offering eat your wallet, try Rundle.

But I wouldn't trade it for the suburbs. I lived in the NE suburbs in between living in Hutt Street and here. It was horrible.

[Wayno]

Only negatives is having Good Life Pizza within a short walking distance.

Yup. This is definitely one of those positive negatives.

There has been many studies by urbanists that residents who walk and cycle, spend over double the amount in their local community economy than those who drive their cars absolutely everywhere

I used to drive 150-200km per week before moving to the city. Now drive 50-100km, use my car every 2-4 days, walk to local shops, cycle to rundle st/mall, and stroll with my granny trolley to the central markets - it's a good look i know

[Wayno]

I'm now living at the corner of Frome and Rundle. Noise is ... noisy here. I don't think many people could live with it. If you think Hutt Street's offering eat your wallet, try Rundle.

Aha! you need one of these per window, which are the primary culprits for allowing noise into a home: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/sono-n ... d=20726945. Unfortunately still in prototype mode

What are the main noise source(s)? and how's the level outside business hours? much from drunken revelers?

[Dog]

I looked around the CBD for options when the Kids left home, and ended up trading 4 bedrooms and 800sqm in suburbia for 100sqm of Torrens title town house in North Adelaide. If anything I miss my shed but there so many other benefits, I walk everywhere, probably eat out way more than I should but know most of the cafe staff by name. I have been here for five years now and still enjoying it. The popular view is that North Adelaide is gentrified and snobby but I find theres a good mix of people with lots of rentals there's plenty of comings and goings, students, contract uni staff, project engineers, musicians, and a good vibe.
I generally feel safe walking late at night and being near the university sports fields there are always people out jogging and keeping fit. Despite the Old lion and the oval being near by noise is never a problem just adds to the all the reasons city living is good.
Perhaps on the down side, besides my lack of a decent shed, as in suburbia there is a heathy number of possums and probably more fruit rats, the city councils compost depot reeks badly on hot summer nights and spontaneous combustion can bring both smoke and the wail of fire sirens late at night. Bin nights are also often accompanied by the jingle of bottle & cans and flap of bin lids up and down the street late into the night, with some bottle scavengers obviously thinking my failure to put a bin out is an open invitation to check out my front yard.
But all in all I think there's more for city living than against.




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[monotonehell]

Aha! you need one of these per window...

Interesting idea. But my place is a late 1800's building with double sash windows, so I don't think that NC will help.

What are the main noise source(s)? and how's the level outside business hours? much from drunken revelers?

The revellers are mostly Friday and Saturday nights, with the exception of Fringe time when they are all week, so I'm okay with that. Being above Frome Street there's a lot of traffic noise. But the thing that annoyed me most until I became used to it is the audio signals on the pedestrian crossing. Once your brain locks onto the rhythm, you can't unhear it.

[Waewick]

Funnily enough I also used to stay on gillies just up from the arab steed.

Great area and I reckon I knew which house Wayno is taking about with the pigeons.

The thing I loved about that part of the CBD was the back streets and back lanes.

Post cbd I initially moved to Parkside so didn't lose the waking every were benefits.

Now I live in the sticks, close enough to the Parade but car is needed for every trip.

[Wayno]

If anything I miss my shed

I'm with ya brother. I drastically downsized my shed, ousted the machinery (lathe, etc), now just have small tools for my handyman activities.

The popular view is that North Adelaide is gentrified and snobby but I find theres a good mix of people with lots of rentals there's plenty of comings and goings, students, contract uni staff, project engineers, musicians, and a good vibe.

I generally feel safe walking late at night and being near the university sports fields there are always people out jogging and keeping fit. Despite the Old lion and the oval being near by noise is never a problem just adds to the all the reasons city living is good.

thanks for that insight Dog. Good to hear Nth Adders is a regular mix of folk - breaks the stereotypical view.

There is a heathy number of possums and probably more fruit rats, the city councils compost depot reeks badly on hot summer nights and spontaneous combustion can bring both smoke and the wail of fire sirens late at night.

Agreed. I'm a member of Nth Adelaide Golf Club, which the ACC 'gardeners' do their best to tend. Unfortunately they feel obliged to pile compost under the fig trees and between fairways throughout the year, followed by weeks of gagging and holding my breath while it breaks down. Complaints fall on deaf ears.

[Wayno]

But the thing that annoyed me most until I became used to it is the audio signals on the pedestrian crossing. Once your brain locks onto the rhythm, you can't unhear it.

You can ask the ACC to turn down the volume, or even turn it off. They'll send an engineer to check if the volume is too loud. These audio devices also contain timers. Some of these audio devices in the Hutt St precinct are turned off in the depth of night. Something like midnight to 6am.

[Wayno]

The thing I loved about that part of the CBD was the back streets and back lanes.

Agreed. I'm a jogger and explore various laneways as i head to/from the parklands. It's like stepping back in time. There's even a Don Lane. lol

[rev]

How many of you are single, and how many of you have young children?

[Nathan]

I used to live in the city in an apartment on Halifax St, towards KWS. I concur that noise was rarely an issue, and the proximity to the City South tram stop, plus walking distance to the Central Market was a great plus. My wife (then girlfriend) and I shared the 2br apartment with a friend of mine which kept things affordable. We've since moved out to another apartment in Stepney and about to move to another in Bowden. We've never had an issue for space, and in fact actually enjoy the restriction - we end up weighing up purchases on whether we really need it or not to avoid clutter, and the result is we buy less, but buy better. Neither of us are garden people, so much prefer access to parks rather than having to look after our own yard.

Rev, I'm married and now have a very very young newborn (hence my lack of posting in the last week and a half ). So it's going to be the three of us in the new apartment. (To be fair, our current apartment isn't great for that arrangement, but that's specific to its design - with concrete floors, an open mezzanine, metal stairs, and being a walk-up. They won't be issues in the new place)