Tone

Moved to Stirling in March 2009. My wife & I have always wanted to live here, it's our favourite part of the Adelaide Hills. Stirling has a very English feel, with the main street having an middle-upper class village look and feel. It's as if someone transported a small part of the Cotswolds to Australia and plonked it down in the middle of the Adelaide Hills.

Unlike much of the Adelaide Hills where Australian natives reign supreme, Stirling is dominated with European-style deciduous foliage. The cool, damp climate seems to suit this type of flora better than almost anywhere else in South Australia.

Stirling is deceptively close to the Adelaide CBD. During off-peak periods, it can take as little as 15 minutes to travel from the centre of Adelaide to the main street of Stirling. Despite this, it feels as though Stirling might as well be in another country.

The main street provides a huge range of goods and services, and there is a reasonably diverse range of foods and eateries available. Much of these are clearly aimed at the upper classes, such as a relatively high number of upmarket cafes and organic stores for such a small population, but there are also competent budget options available. The Stirling Hotel is a highlight, good quality meals that are reasonably priced, all in a nice atmosphere. The social hub of Stirling.

Schools are good, public transport is adequate, the locals are friendly, the internet is fast and reliable and mobile phone reception is better than in many parts of the Adelaide Hills.

A couple of observations I have made in my short time here are (a) there are a lot of people that walk regularly here, no matter what the weather and (b) there seems to be less overweight people in Stirling than in other parts of Adelaide. I'm guessing the combination of breathtaking scenery and hilly terrain makes it relatively easy to keep fit.

One of the biggest myths about Stirling is that all the houses here cost > $1m. Whilst there are quite a few rambling country manors that run to the $3m+ mark, if you don't mind living a little further away from the main street in a house that needs a little work (or is quite small), you may get change from $500k.

So yes, I highly recommend Stirling as a great place to visit (especially on the Sundays when the Organic Market is on, or during the Tour Down Under). I recommend it even more as a great place to live.

Spent the first 21 years of my life here, couldn't wait to get out! It's pretty much the part of Adelaide where the Public Housing authorities dump all those that can't integrate into society like normal people.

A lot of social problems (teenage pregnancy, gangs, drugs, petty crime etc), many of which were imported from England in the 1960s. Some streets are pretty much full of 2nd and 3rd generation Soccer Hooligans.

Not many shops. Just an IGA, a fish and chip shop, a pawnbroker and the TAB. The essentials.

The only things going for is that houses are cheap (< $200k for a 3 bedroom house), but there's little incentive to keep a nice house when half the street looks like Gaza. That, and there are a lot of parks and open spaces to run around in ... and you will need to run to get away from being chased by the local ferals.

The disappointing thing is that there are some lovely people that live here, but because there are so many ferals running around ruining the place, it just has a very nasty atmosphere overall. You can spot the lovely old dears that still live here because they usually have the only garden in the street that has seen a lawnmower this millennium.

So no, I can't recommend Davoren Park as a good place to live.

Lived here for 5 years, the review I did for Plympton pretty much sums up how I feel about McArthur Avenue. Great local food, close to all the facilities you could ever want, near both the CBD and some great beaches.

The best feature of McArthur Avenue is the linear park across the road, with a walking/cycling track. There is also Weigall Oval down the street, and around the corner there are two parks/playgrounds. Once in Allchurch Ave (with a tennis court!) and one in Cross Tce next to the Guides hall.

It's also quite close to a decent set of local shops (about 1km - 10 minutes walk) with a Coles and Kmart.

The only negative parts about this street is that the traffic is quite heavy at peak hour as people tend to use this street as a short cut to avoid main roads, traffic lights etc. This has become worse since the roadworks on South Rd started.

Other than that, it's a pretty good place to live.

About 5km SW of the Adelaide CBD. Not what you'd call 'trendy' (it's actually quite daggy in parts) but it's very good value for money. Excellent dining can be had from a number of restaurants, take-aways and other assorted eateries within a short distance - in particular, there are several excellent Indian restaurants and take-aways in the area. Very close to the City and quite close to quality dining and shopping strips like King William Rd and Unley Rd.

Overlooked by many people, Plympton property prices tend to reflect this. A good clean 3 bedroom house on a traditional sized block will set you back as little as high $300ks. There is an increasing number of brand new courtyard and villa homes, catering to singles and professionals. These start from mid $400ks. There are also a LOT of flats along Anzac Highway, these can be rented or purchased quite cheaply - a very basic 1 bedroom flat is only around $150k.

Transport is good. Bus services are frequent, and the Adelaide-Glenelg tramline also services Plympton.

People that live here tend to be either young singles & couples, or older residents with a few families in the mix as well. Very culturally diverse, and very friendly people that tend to look out for one another.

There's only one pub (The Highway Inn), but it's a good one.

Excellent sporting and recreation facilities, including a number of parks, Weigall Oval and the Adelaide-Glenelg linear park and bikeway.

The only bad thing about Plympton is that it's quite noisy at times, especially Anzac Highway on Friday and Saturday nights, mainly due to the unofficial motorsport activities. Sometimes these can spill over into side streets. If you're a bit further away from the Anzac Highway strip, or you're a heavy sleeper, you won't care. The pluses well outweigh the negatives.