Any Alice Springs locals on here?

[JP Schulze]

Any locals able to give me some feedback on what it is like living there? From all the reviews, video's, photo's I have concerned myself with it looks like my Paradise. I come from Namibia (a Google search will reveal the beauty), but like many other Southern African's I have become sick and tired of the politics in Africa (racism, corruption, murders, discrimination etc) and have hence moved to NZ. No doubt a wonderful country with many great opportunities. But I miss "Desert" like environments, warm temperatures, awesome sunsets which one can enjoy while flying a trike in a T-Shirt and short pants, dust in every corner and joint, open fires to “braai” some steaks and some sausages, but most of all the FREEDOM! Flying low-level over the wonderful scenery and taking the quads into the middle of nowhere for a day!

 

What is Alice like? Aviation like, things like building your own Hanger (or perhaps my own recreational airfield), living costs, the temperature, does it cool down in the evenings and mornings, overhaul weather etc.

 

Feedback would be much appreciated

 

Kind Regards

 

JP

 

 

[Guest aviatrix27]

G'day JP, I don't live there but did visit once for 9 days. Maybe my impression of The Alice is tainted because we were stuck there for 9 days (intended to stay 3), but I didn't like it much. Yes, it cools down overnight! When we were there (July 2004), I think -9 deg C was common overnight. Yes, MINUS 9. I don't recall it getting to more than 15 deg C during the day either. I can't imagine you'd be able to build your own airfield/hangar either unless you were way north of the town, the airport isn't all that far south, so you would be in controlled airspace.

 

Others may have different opinions, this is just mine.

 

 

[willedoo]

Hello JP,

 

I don't live there either, but am based out of Alice quite a lot. Physically, it's one of the most beautiful & unique towns in Australia, especially at the moment, after 40-50" of rain in what is normally a 6-8" per annum rainfall area. To live there it has it's good & bad points. Climate is typical of desert country, Summers in the high 40's & 50's, lots of flies, Autum & Spring are great, Winter is good, but can get a bit cold at times. A really good central base to explore some of the best of outback Australia. There's plenty of work there for anyone who wants to.

 

Well, that's only some of the good points. It's a bit restrictive as to what one can say about the down side of the Alice, as it can get a bit political. But I'll say what I can say. There's a lot of talk about the high cost of living & from what I've seen, food & basic retail items are not much worse than at home. Fuel is expensive as it is everywhere remote, but the biggest problem is the lack of available real estate & housing, hence the extreme cost of buying a house there. A house worth 450 thousand on the Gold Coast will cost you an extra 2 or 3 hundred thousand in the Alice. Due to the social problems, a lot of people prefer to live a few k's out of town. The problem there is supply & demand, as there is limited freehold land in those types of areas.

 

Alice Springs these days is a cross between a tourist town & a 3rd world country, but the beauty of the area is breathtaking, & it has a lot of good points for anyone who can afford to move there. I'd say private airstrips in the area would be limited to the outlying stations & mines. The Territory these days is very regulated, don't know how you'd go there, aviation wise.

 

It's certainly not everyone's paradise, a lot of people are moving out & just as many moving in, I think it's what you make of it & your background, JP, would hold you in good stead there, I imagine. The best way to find out would be to visit for a couple of weeks & take it from there. It's an extremely beautiful place, takes a sense of humour to live there.There's no other place remotely like it in Australia, it's unique.

 

The great part of flying in those regions is the view, as in all semi-arid country. What you see on the map, is what you see on the ground, whereas in a lot of other country, it's gets a bit ordinary flying over a carpet of trees all the time. Hope this is of some help.

 

Cheers,

 

Willedoo.