Anglo Pacific’s International Migration Manager, Noel Glavin, says, “This year
we have seen a 10% surge in home removals to South Australia over 2011. It seems apparant that Brits are falling for Adelaide’s community spirit, optimism, old-fashioned values, family traditions, relaxed life-style and warm climate - facets of Britain that have either been eroded over time or never existed in the first place. Research has shown that when they arrive in Adelaide they feel neither “foreign nor strange” and settle easily into “Britain in the sun”. Add in South Australia’s dependence on skilled migrants and it’s no surprise 10,000 Brits have migrated permanently to South Australia during the last five years alone - many using Anglo Pacific’s services.”
Adelaide is ranked a mighty fifth within the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2012 Global Liveability Ranking, up from ninth in 2011, whilst London compared languishes at 51st. The cities that fare the most effective in this Ranking are generally mid-sized with low population densities, low crime rates, little congestion, good healthcare and readily available recreational activities. Adelaide ticks every box and, as a result of Colonel William Light, all with a British twist.
Adelaide’s Britishness was put under the microscope in an August 2012 Huddersfield University report commissioned through the South Australian Office of the Agent General to memorialize the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Entitled “When the British built Adelaide, they wanted to build a better Britain”, the report makes note of all of its British characteristics - most famously its name, after William IV’s consort Queen Adelaide. The city has a street named King William Street, beaches named Grange and Henley, Victorian era heritage buildings, the Adelaide Oval sports ground, the British Hotel founded in 1838 that is constantly on the trade and even the locals’ accents tend to be more “British” than in other parts of the Commonwealth.
Britishness aside, Adelaide has plenty to offer the modern-day migrant. With a population just above a million, Adelaide is a vibrant city laid out on either side from the Torrens River, fringed with a green belt of parks and set against the backdrop of the Mount Lofty Ranges. Hugely sociable, there exists a thriving live music and arts scene and Adelaide is specially famous for its festivals - in reality there are 400 of them yearly and 300 days of sunshine to make them possible. 72,000 hectares of vineyards producing excellent wines, lower than average house prices and 3,000 miles of coastline enhance the appeal.
Melissa Hay, Business Development Manager - Migration, for the South Australia Office of the Agent General says, “Britain has been a essential source of skilled migrants for South Australia, so we have been running a lot of roadshows this autumn to explain the new invitation-only visa system that arrived to effect 1 July this year - Skill Select. Currently South Australia is looking to get skilled health professionals, engineers, teachers and all trades across the board including electricians, plumbers, diesel mechanics and welders. Should you decide to make the move, you’ll be happy to hear that eight out of ten South Australian families surveyed for the Huddersfield report said there is a work-life balance that enables them to spend plenty of time with their family. Data from those surveyed in the united kingdom told an alternative story stating a celeb obsessed culture and lack of community spirit as reasons behind wanting to emigrate.”
To find out more about the Australian visa process and moving to Adelaide - visit https://www.facebook.com/LiveInAdelaide.