Evanston???

[Kjc]

We are coming over in three weeks to validate our visa (me, the wife and our 4 & 7 year old sons). Just before Christmas I was offered a job but they wanted me to start Feb when we come over which is not possible with having to work notice in the uk etc......... It appears the company in question may still want to see me in Feb for a chat so there is still a chance, but the job will be in Balaklava which is 100 kms north of Adelaide. We were thinking of southern suburbs originally but this will change things slightly and I have been looking at Evanston as a possibility which will give me around a 70 Kms journey which isnt to bad. (used to do the M25 daily).

Any feedback on Evanston re housing, schools, shops, sports, pubs etc would be gratefully received so we can have a look around when we come over.

[Diane]

To drive to Balaklava I reckon you're either looking at up the Port Wakefield Road to Two Wells, then through Mallala, or carry on with the Port Wakefield Road to Port Wakefield itself, then turn right to Balaklava. Depends on how long you are happy to drive each way, but to give you an idea driving from where I live in Highbury (which is North East, about 20 minutes drive into the City, about 35 minutes drive to the nearest beach) it took me about an hour and a quarter to get to Port Wakefield last week, then it would be about another half hour to Balaklava.

What this means is you could easily look somewhere around Mawson Lakes, which gives direct access to the Port Wakefield Road but is also well served with public transport etc to get into the City and to the beaches, meaning you'd have about an hour's drive, or 80-ish kms each way to work, yet still not be out in the sticks, with access to all the City has to offer in terms of entertainment, markets, social activites etc. Or even somewhere like Salisbury Heights, or Golden Grove. If you haven't been to South Australia before, it can be hard to grasp just how "country" some country places are - it's very different to how I imagined it from the UK!

Evanston and Gawler are nice country towns, but I think the Port Wakefield Road is a much better one to drive on than the Main North Road, being dual carriageway most of the way, so if you chose to live out in that direction (of the Main North Road route), you may find the drive would take a lot longer.

Have a look at www.whereis.com.au and http://www.raa.com.au/maps/# to get an idea of routes, distances and times.

Forget about the southern suburbs!

[ian mc]

I worked with guys from Balaclava Port Wakefield and Mallala they used to travel to Salisbury every day for work would take them about an hour Balaclava is a nice place even to live as is Mallala. You could always go the other direction and go on to the York peninsular Wallaroo,Moonta,Ardrossan all just over an hour away from Balaklava and lovely towns and lovely beaches just like little holiday places.