Adelaide, Australia

Adelaide, Australia, is sometimes called the “20-minute city.” Adelaideans boast about their ability to get anywhere worth going within a 20-minute car ride. While that may be a slight exaggeration, what is true is that this southern Australian city offers easy access to beaches, golf, mountains, vineyards, parklands and cultural attractions.

The city, bisected by the River Torrens, is sandwiched between the Gulf of St. Vincent and the foothills of the Mount Lofty Mountain Range.

Some say it has less of an urban feel and more like that of a large country town. Adelaide is at once elegant and relaxed, historic and progressive. It enjoyed a building boom in the late 1800s and many English Victorian-style buildings remain today with some having been turned into trendy bars and restaurants. A grand 19^th century boulevard in the Adelaide Cultural Precinct is home to leading institutions like the Art Gallery of South Australia, Parliament House and the state library as well as stately residences.

Adelaide earns high marks for its quality of life. The 2016 Economist Intelligence Unit ranked it fifth out of 140 cities for factors like safety, healthcare, infrastructure and environment. A Mediterranean climate marked by dry summers and mild winters is a reason Adelaide has a dynamic outdoor dining scene and year-round schedule of festivals, street parties and pop-up cultural events. Surfers and divers have no shortage of beaches to choose among. The climate and geography is also ideal for grape-growing. Adelaide is a national wine center with scores of cellars surrounding the city. Well-established wine regions like Borossa, Clare Valley and McLaren Vale have international cachet.

For primary home buyers and investors, Adelaide is an attractive luxury real estate market for its lifestyle options and for its affordability.