About Adelaide

Located in the south of Australia, Adelaide enjoys relatively easy rail and air transport to other Australian cities while, at the same time retaining its sense of independence and uniqueness. With a population of around 1.3 million, the city is the fifth largest in Australia, and the largest in the state of South Australia.

Of this population, almost 30 percent are foreign-born, creating a large and diverse community of expats and immigrants, and forming a welcoming and vibrant blend of cultures for anybody considering a move to Adelaide. This is especially true for expatriates moving from the UK, as 10 percent of the city’s population is made up of UK-born migrants. The city is also an ideal place to live during retirement, as it has the highest percentage of retired residents of any of Australia’s largest cities. However, not everybody hoping to move to Adelaide after retiring is likely to meet the strict criteria for immigrants laid down by the Australian government (and examined in further detail below).

Visas for Australia

If you’re looking to relocate to Adelaide from outside of Australia, then you’ll need to comply with the country’s regulations on immigration, which are often seen as strict in comparison to many other countries.

The system for obtaining a permanent visa to live and work in Australia is called the General Skilled Migration Program, or GSM. This program is the only method by which workers can move to the country, and relies on a set of criteria being met. These include:

• Applicants must be under 50 years old
• Applicants must have a competent grasp of the English language
• Applicants should be in reasonably good health
• ·Applicants must possess skills that fit into the skills occupation list

If the applicant meets these requirements, they must obtain a certain number of ‘points’ in order to be granted a visa. For instance, an applicant aged 18-24 automatically receives 25 points, whereas somebody aged between 40 and 44 only gains 15 points. Similar points are awarded for language ability, skills for employment, qualifications (for instance, a Bachelor’s Degree holder gains more points than somebody with a Diploma), and work experience, amongst other requirements.

However, not necessarily everybody moving to Adelaide will want to do so on a permanent basis. For more “traditional expats”, e.g. assignees, various employment sponsored visa categories exist, as do many other temporary visa types, such as for example the Working Holiday program. A comprehensive overview as well as interactive help with deciding on the right visa category can be found on the website of the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

The Climate in Adelaide

Due to its location at the base of Australia, Adelaide enjoys hot summers and mild winters, but avoids the unbearable heat of places further north and closer to the equator. As a result, its climate is often described as a ‘Mediterranean climate’. Amongst all of the Australian state capitals, Adelaide is the driest and entire months with no rainfall whatsoever are fairly common.

Generally, the average temperature for the summer months (with summer, of course, coming between around December and March) is around 28°C, with average lows of around 16°C and average highs reaching around 45° C. During the winter months, the average temperature comes in at around 16°C, with highs of 30°C and lows of around 8°C.