A number of years ago I had spent a year in Adelaide working for ClubsSA (which was then know under the cumbersome title of the Licensed Clubs Association of South Australia). Gaming machines were about to be introduced into pubs and clubs. It was a very scary time for club managers and publicans. I was employed to get Club Managers and staff up to speed on gaming machines and gaming management. Think about someone who has never ever seen a gaming machine. They had no idea how to open the machine let alone read meters, find a coin acceptor and un-jam it, do a pay-out, clear the machine and then….. how do you balance these things and what is this çashflow analysis’ stuff you talk about ? Let me just say that it was an exciting and rewarding 12 months that I spent in Adelaide BUT … let me tell you that in the beginning, I was not interested AT ALL in living in what I thought was going to be the most boring place in the universe. I thought it would be hell hole because, well everyone told me it was.
I was lucky enough to snag a place to live in the first week of me being there but wait for it… it was HALF the rent of the dingy little place that I left in Leichhardt and this had a view to die for. YES, I could live on the beach (and I mean ON THE BEACH – check the pics) for 50% less than I could live in a house in inner-city Sydney. This was a great start to a new job. Check out the pics below of the view from my front door, where my bedroom was and the proximity to the beach. Jealous yet ?
I was shocked, scared, nervous and at the same time pumped to start my new job and new year in a new city. I came home in the evening to see the sunset over the ocean – it made me smile. I wasnt married and had no kids at that point of my life so my nights and weekends were free to roam and enjoy. All I had in my mind before I left Sydney was what people werer saying; “ýou will be bored”; “there’s nothing to do there”; “you will be home in 3 months”: Oh how wrong they could be. I think I had created the idea in my mind that it was a town with no shops, no night life and not even any people. Instead, I found the most genuine bunch of people, the busiest lifestyle, the most beautiful walks, views to die for, wineries to go back to time and time again and so many one or two day trips out of the city to experience. I met friends that I am still in touch with. Remember that so many of the suppliers in the Club and Gaming industry are national if not global companies, so I still see so many of them. I learnt so much about life and I even saved enough money to get a deposit on my first house.
I only had a 12 month contract in SA and was in some ways glad to get home to see my friends and family, but I look back even today and remember the most amazing experiences that you simply don’t get in Sydney. I reflect often and think “I wish I had stayed and sought further opportunities in Adelaide”, but life throws at you what the planets are supposed to throw at you, and here I am having a successful business in Sydney with a small family and still enjoying the opportunities that are thrown at me. No regrets, just plenty of great memories of Adelaide.
The lessons I learnt from this contract in Adelaide was to not always listen to what ‘perceptions’ that other people may have about a place especially if they haven’t even lived there. I learnt to ‘give it a go’ with no fear. I learnt what it is like to start afresh knowing no-one in a new place – and I learnt that you can survive and in fact thrive on this experience. I learnt that taking opportunities that are out-of-the-box to what you thought you would be doing can actually grow your career to heights you never thought. I learnt that I love Adelaide and always will. It has a little piece of my heart to this day and I get butterflies in my tummy whenever I am about to land in Adelaide.
I write this article for multiple reasons but mainly to show that you can consider things that you have never considered before. The SA government have put out plenty of info about what it’s like to live in Adelaide – check out a great info document here: http://bit.ly/2svBgCP
We have a few incredibly exciting roles with Adelaide Casino at the moment – in the Marketing and Gaming areas. If you want to chat about the roles, I really welcome your call. Click on the link (or copy it to a browser) to see the roles here: http://bit.ly/2twqQ7v and you will also find my phone number. Call if you want to chat to me and hear more about the roles or even if you want to chat about my experience in Adelaide….. actually, I am up for a chat about anything usually. Most people say that they have an ”open door policy” but I actually have ”an open ear policy”. I look forward to chatting to you !
Jenny White, Managing Director of White Now