Anne B

Glad you enjoyed Burra although the damp firewood doesn't sound good. The Paxton Square cottages are quite basic from what I gather (no TVs) but as you say it adds to the authentic historic experience. Did you visit the miners dugouts where people literally lived in mud caves by the creek? Unbelievably primative, it's amazing how people survived in those days. We had a cottage just over the road from them which was really nice.

Burra is a nice place to stay - there are cosy old stone cottages (make sure you get one with a fire) and during the day you can do the Burra passport - go round the old copper mining, heritage areas and museums, so there is plenty to do that is fun and educational. I took my kids away with me a couple of years ago for a couple of nights and we had a great time, played Monopoly in the evenings. It does get cold though and also take some food as there isn't a lot of choice for eating out. It is also cheaper than the Clare Valley.

I remember that day well - we were camped at Wilpena Pound, trying to pack up the tent that morning was a nightmare as our hands were like blocks of ice! We had enjoyed 30 degree heat a couple of days before at Arkaroola and hadn't packed for Antarctic weather conditions!!

Just got back from the Gold Coast - haven't been there for over 5 years. Well the place is buzzing, the whole area seems much more positive and years ahead of sleepy old Adelaide. The contrast was very noticeable - to be honest I would happily move up there tomorrow - Adelaide seems so behind the times in comparison. There seemed to be more young people around too.

Totally agree - I can't stand the current Australian cricket team, they are so arrogant. Will never be able to support them, I was cheering on India and NZ this time round. Love the Socceroos though, really enjoyed it when they won the Asian Cup. I don't hate the French at Rugby, but I still remember with great fondness the Rugby World Cup 2003 when England beat Australia in Sydney in the final (with the drop goal from Jonny Wilkinson)!! Absolute magic! My Australian husband had gone down the pub (in England) to watch the match with a fellow Aussie - apparently the England fans at the pub felt so sorry for them they bought them drinks at the end of the match!

I don't feel 'homesick' as such but on balance I prefer living in England. I would move back to England tomorrow if it was easy (kids schooling/jobs/finances are keeping us here). I don't hate it here, I really like some things, but I don't think it will ever be 'home'. I just want to be rich enough to live 6 months of the year in each country!!!

The Hundred/Section bit probably only applies to rural properties where the address is a bit vague or a large block of land out in the middle of nowhere. SA is divided into hundreds, it is how they divided up the land when it was first settled (by Europeans) - this is an ancient way of dividing land, a hundred would be the size of land which sustained 100 households.

Mitcham, Urrbrae, Unley - south east of the city. Tennyson is quiet and upmarket but it's by the beach.

I do - we went on the beach at Robe a few years ago, the kids were having a surfing lesson, cars were driving up and down all the time, it wasn't relaxing at all. With small kids it would be a nightmare!

WEA http://www.wea-sa.com.au/

Henley Beach overall is a nicer, more desirable and more expensive suburb than Seaton because it is near the beach and has some very up-market properties, but it really is on a street by street basis. You can get much better value living a little bit inland, it is still only 5 mins drive in the car to the beach but without the high price tag. Have a look at these 2 properties, one in Seaton, the other in Henley Beach - they go against the stereotypes. In general if there are houses with cars parked on the lawn and lounge chairs by the front door, avoid the area! http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-sa-henley+beach-113462967 http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-sa-seaton-118000419

There are lots of reasonable suburbs all within an easy drive of the beach and the city - Grange, West Lakes, Henley Beach, West Beach, Fulham Gardens, Fulham, Kidman Park, Flinders Park, Lockleys, Seaton etc. Grange and Henley are the most expensive, but all of these areas have pockets of nice streets and grotty streets so you really do have to look around carefully. There are some streets in Henley Beach which are worse than parts of Seaton, some nice areas in Seaton near the golf course which are nicer than Grange. North Seaton is definately a lower socio-economic area. There are some nice areas in Kidman Park and Lockleys near the river. Kidman Park, Seaton, Fulham Gardens have a high Italian/Greek population so you might not fit in so well with the neighbours if they are elderly and speak Italian at home. It so best to look around when you get here. Areaa like Thebarton and Torrensville are worth a look too, also Sempahore.

It depends on when your eldest's birthday is but if he is in year 11 now in the UK then he would be in either year 10 or year 11 here. If his birthday is between September 98 and approx April 99, then he will go into year 11 and be about half way through the year in May this year. If his birthday is May, June, July or August 99 then he most likely will go into year 10. My son's birthday is late July 99 and he is about to start year 10 next week, even though if we had stayed in England he would be in year 11 now and taking his GCSEs later this year (he was the youngest boy in his class at primary school in England).

Wow, what a lot of traffic!!! We did that 23 years ago (outside of school holidays) and had the road to ourselves most of the time. I suppose times change, places get busier, you remember things and places as they were but would probably be disappointed to drive it now with all that traffic. Apollo Bay was a wonderful place, and we enjoyed a free concert on the beach in Lorne from Big Audio Dynamite as they were there for some Sony music Australia awards. Happy times, good memories!

Back to the subject of the thread - I agree that the value is all in the land and not in the builiding. In sought after streets, almost derelict houses still sell for a lot of money, because the land is worth a lot. Well maintained houses don't sell for much more than the knock-downs. I wouldn't buy a new house on half a block, as in 20 years time the house will look dated and scruffy (many Australians don't maintain their houses) and is it only a small plot of land. I predict that today's modern shiny courtyard homes will be tomorrow's slums. Lots have been built cheap, rented out, not looked after and are already looking scruffy. As for waterfront being highly desirable, yes and no. Waterfront properties in Port Adelaide haven't done very well (the views of and dust from the cement factory probably don't help). In North Haven you can still get relatively cheap houses with sea views - we considered moving there but it seemed just too far away from everywhere, too much time spent driving to decent shops or decent schools (also maybe too close to some disadvantaged areas as well) - so factoring in the time and the petrol costs the advantages were outweighed by the disadvantages. There are other factors apart from waterfront one major one being proximity to good schools (although which schools are considered good can change over time), transport links, shops, jobs etc.