Why Adelaide is Actually Radelaide

The Central Market dates back to 1869 and is one of the best sources of fresh and wholesome food in Adelaide. There’s an assortment of stalls that sell amazing veggie food and foods from different cultures. This is as well as the obligatory fruit and veg stalls, there are cheeses, nuts, sweets, and fabrics! It is a great place to do your food shop if you’re trying to cut down on your plastic footprint.

Pro tip: On a Saturday afternoon literally everything is AU$1 or less, as the market is closed Sunday and Monday - so everything must go!

Almost everything is on one street, which some may see as a bad thing, but I like it, it makes life easy. That street is called Rundle Mall. Rundle Mall has all your favorite Australian brands that you've probably never heard of, and also some that you might have i.e. Target. This mall is also home to some balls - Malls Balls. These balls are nationally famous and are super shiny which is great for selfie taking. You also are almost guaranteed to encounter a man playing several instruments, the most of important of which is of course the iconic didgeridoo.

Australia is notorious for beautiful beaches, and Adelaide is no exception. I lived a 20-minute bus journey from my closest white sand beach. This was amazing in the Spring and Autumn as once you've finished uni you can nip to the beach for a quick dip in the sea. In the summer, you'll probably be enjoying beaches elsewhere in Australasia and the winter isn't exactly ideal for swimming (unless you're into that kind of thing).

I lost a shoe to this waterbody. RIP.

Adelaide is surrounded by hills which make for some beautiful scenery and some lovely drives. Up in the hills, is a little German village called Hahndorf. The village is filled with boutique stores, historic buildings, art, and loads of good food. And, the year I was there it even actually snowed in Hahndorf (only a little, for like a day, but it still happened)!

There are probably loads of cool things to do up in them there hills, but one of my favorite things was going swimming in Highbury Quarry. This is a big ol' disused quarry that has filled with water. The water is crystal clear blue probably owing to the high levels of leachates and being highly polluted. Pretty as heck, though! Now, I DO NOT encourage trespassing, but what people choose to do in their own time is up to them.

I won't lie, they all sound Australian to me. BUT if you want a slightly different sounding Aussie, then Adelaide is the place for you! Most Aussies pronounce words in an 'American' way, whereas people from South Australia (Adelaide) pronounce them in a more 'British' way.

Now of course everywhere has seasons, but what I mean is that it actually gets almost cold in Adelaide. You may think this is a bad thing, but it was the main reason I chose somewhere in the South of Australia. Seasons are a blessing if, like me, you’re accustomed to the cold. It can get up to 40°C in the summer and down to around 5°C in the winter. Don't get me wrong, I love the sun and the heat but there is only so much this pasty white girl can take.

When you do a generic internet search for Adelaide you will find out that it is the 'City of Churches'. I'm not really sure why this is - the people who built Adelaide just really like churches, I guess. The oldest church in Adelaide is the Holy Trinity Anglican Church at 200 years old! Now, personally, a church isn't something I get excited about (although I do love the architecture) but if you're a real church-head, then Adelaide is calling you!

There three main universities in Adelaide – the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia (UniSA), and Flinders University. I went to Adelaide Uni and thoroughly enjoyed it. I studied Ecology, which was taught super well and meant I got to go on field trips. These were great as I got to make friends that were Australian, and not just more international students (not that they're not great)! I also took some anthropology courses during my program and found out that I'm actually quite good at it.

Adelaide University is good for more sciencey maths kinda stuff. The University of South Australia is generally better for nursing, arts, and social sciences. Flinders University is best suited to medicine and dietetics, due to its proximity to the hospital. There are talks of a merger of UniSA and Adelaide to form one super-university, so watch this space…

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Now, my opinion is very biased I know, because I had the best year and I can't wait to go back. But you should choose to go to Adelaide, it's not like you won't see the rest of Australia when you travel. I believe you get a better experience when you live somewhere where you can actually afford to have fun! I made some amazing friends, which was easy to do as everyone is so nice. Eventually, I want to move back to Australia, and I will be heading straight for Adelaide!

*Be warned though, by living in Australia you will become one of them - you will start doing things like saying 'hey' at the end of every sentence or believing that 30°C isn't really that hot. But the sacrifices we make, hey?* And don’t get me started on their weird slang.

So, in conclusion, Adelaide is 10/10 - definitely would recommend to a friend.