Beer Garden

[dsriggs]

An article from The Sun about a Brit family who moved to Adelaide, found it not to their liking & moved back.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... ghter.html

They rented out their home in Hull and found a luxury flat to rent in central Adelaide.
But Siobhan said: “We soon missed Corrie, Emmerdale and EastEnders.
"Pub meals were not the same — they had kangaroo and weird burgers.
"It’s also much more expensive out there."

Thankfully, they seem to be getting bashed by the commenters, so it shouldn't be too bad for us.

[Waewick]

An article from The Sun about a Brit family who moved to Adelaide, found it not to their liking & moved back.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/ne ... ghter.html

They rented out their home in Hull and found a luxury flat to rent in central Adelaide.
But Siobhan said: “We soon missed Corrie, Emmerdale and EastEnders.
"Pub meals were not the same — they had kangaroo and weird burgers.
"It’s also much more expensive out there."

Thankfully, they seem to be getting bashed by the commenters, so it shouldn't be too bad for us.

I think they are just simpletons who couldn't think through it.

don't get me wrong, nearly every Brit I know who comes to Adelaide leaves as soon as they can, but generally for another part of Australia.

[Wayno]

don't get me wrong, nearly every Brit I know who comes to Adelaide leaves as soon as they can, but generally for another part of Australia.

I've observed the opposite. We are friends with new-ish ex-uk folk now living in Adelaide, and I'm restoring a cottage with most tradies being Brits (they are great at stone masonry, plastering etc). All are strongly appreciative of what we have to offer.

[Shahkar]

don't get me wrong, nearly every Brit I know who comes to Adelaide leaves as soon as they can, but generally for another part of Australia.

This doesn't go well with the fact that 7.3% of Adelaide's population was born in England.

[Vee]

An article from The Sun about a Brit family who moved to Adelaide, found it not to their liking & moved back.

I read about that Brit family too but it was in the Daily Mail.
Quite an extensive article and it attracted many comments from around the world, including Australia (some from Adelaide) and NZ.
Not much love for this couple who made the decision to return after 2 weeks and for the reasons given, including the Cost of Living.
Read:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... juice.html

[SRW]

Here's something I didn't know: Adelaide-based architectural firm Woods Bagot is Australia's biggest practice and 17th largest internationally (down from 14th last year). http://wgmdesigngroup.com/woods-bagot-l ... -100-list/

[Nathan]

Are they still Adelaide-based, or is Adelaide just one of their 17 studios now? Their website makes no mention where the head office/studio is.

[SRW]

Good point. This article over at SmartCompany states that although the firm's home is technically Adelaide it, rather curiously for a large business, doesn't have a set head office.

[Waewick]

I was going to start a thread, but here seemed more apt.

how would a 30 something person get involved in making SA great? (pardon the pun)

I wanted to join a political party, but I not sure that is the way I want

so are there any groups or the like that want/need/seek volunteers ?

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be picking up rubbish or the like, I want to be involved with like minded people that have a passion to drive the state forward?

I'm thinking something like this fourm, except potentially more involved

thoughts?

[Norman]

How about that Entrepreneurs hub on Peel Street?

[Waewick]

How about that Entrepreneurs hub on Peel Street?

Hmm interesting I'll look into it.

[Wayno]

Waewick, do you have a particular topic of interest right now? Making SA Great(er) is a worthwhile vision, but best to start with a clear, tangible and actionable target/goal.

Perhaps contact Renewal SA?

[[Shuz]]

I'd responded to this thread last night but it seems that my post hasn't come through - I seriously doubt it got deleted.

Anyways, I'll say it again.

It'd be great if we could get a collection of people (of which I'd very happily be involved with) that acts as a sort of an 'independent' community consultation organisation, which runs public forums in a manner very similar to what we see on here - and seeks to encourage people of all sorts to contribute to a discussion of ideas, visions, strategies, improvements and feedback on planning issues in Adelaide and South Australia. It would act as an ongoing feedback loop between the public and the Government and private sector to lobby for the prioritisation of key projects and new ideas. We would have no agenda, pure and simple. It would just be able getting the facts out there and encoruaging new ideas.

I envision a public space, similar to the Gallerie Arcade, that would have a setup showcasing the Government and private sector's key projects, that the public can be well informed and contribute to discussion about, but make it more engaging and interactive. iPads everywhere that the public can pick up and they scroll through a 'fast facts' presentation of that project. How much does it cost - when is it expected to be built by... who is behind it? That sort of thing. But then in addition to that, there could be another iPad that showcases a sub-forum of ideas and improvements and feedback relating to that project. Very similar to what 5000+ tried to achieve, but on a grander and more permanent scale. There could be weekly setups in Rundle Mall. 'Voluneteer forumers' would be on hand to detail the pros and cons of each project when approached by a member of the public and offer them the facts, and invite them to make a contribution. Do they 'like' or 'dislike' that project (Facebook-style). Is it a high priority or not? Where should it rank in relevance to other ideas (for example, is it more important to go ahead with rail electrification than building the Northern Connector?) What could make it better? Is it 'overengineered', even? This information would be relayed back to business people and the Government to take note of what the public is saying.

To get down to they nitty and gritty of it; For example, for something that is already underway - the topic of rail electrification - We could ask the public a number of questions and present them with the facts with each answer - Do they support electrification? Do they support the Government's proposed timeframe? Does it need to be done sooner or later? Should we keep the Budget in mind and spread it out over a number of years or just do it all in one big capital intensive hit? Is there widespread public support for an small extra bit of money to be thrown in by the Government to extend the electrification of the Gawler line to Mawson Lakes, instead of Dry Creek? Those sort of 'rolling' questions that define a particular viewpoint. And through this process, is where we could generate entirely new ideas (however absurd they may seem!) - Why do we even need catenarys and masts and that sort of thing? Why can't trains have solar panels on their roofs (I know it's not feasible on a cloudy day, but there's always someone who thinks it can work!). Why do we need trains at all? Why not replace all the train lines with O-Bahns?

I think its really important we have something like this in place, because that is exactly what Picture Adelaide and 5000+ was, and both were really good. But they needed to be permanent. I'm really disappointed they just came about for a couple of months, and then disappeared. It needed to be an ongoing discussion. The Government and the business community need to properly scrutizined and accountable always. And this can be a good thing. The feedback value would be immense!

I remember one of the most popular ideas of 5000+ was the idea of a floating pool in the Torrens. It seemed a little absurd, but the public loved it. It had so many 'likes'. Something like this really could take off. Now all it needs is a business heavyweight or the Government to throw some money at it, and voila!

[Nathan]

What you're talking is pretty much what we lost with the death of the Integrated Design Commission. You touch on 5000+, but that was just part of it. There was quite a number of open forums (the real world kind, not the internet kind) and talks. There were a lot of visions, coming out of 5000+, from the forums, or from commissioned firms (such as the West Tce / West Parklands study).

[Waewick]

Waewick, do you have a particular topic of interest right now? Making SA Great(er) is a worthwhile vision, but best to start with a clear, tangible and actionable target/goal.

Perhaps contact Renewal SA?

That's my problem, I don't really have any thing particular, I have an interest in improving the amenity of the city, PT etc like we discuss here but I would like to be able to actively involved - but not in the lips service manner that Governments quite often engage in.

I actually like the idea Shuz has but something that can be established with the idea of actually making a difference.

a family member works in politics and mentioned that there is a massive hole in both major parties for talented young people with an ambition to build a better SA - my problem is, letter boxing for the Liberals isn't my idea of encouraging positive change