After renting for 17 years in North Adelaide, Irish Art Director, Alex, began to despair of ever finding a place of his own…until he rode his 600cc Yamaha R6 Supersport into Newenham.
Swapping from a 50cc scooter to a road bike on the weekends meant Alex was able to get out to see more of South Australia. However, he never anticipated it would eventually lead to building a home in Mount Barker.
An Irishman by birth, Alex moved to the West Coast of Canada in his early twenties. A few years later, he was looking for a change of scenery and decided Australia had better weather. An Adelaide local for close to twenty years now, he is now firmly ensconced as an art director for a leading Adelaide Advertising Agency.
A comedian at any time of the day, Alex reckons he’s a little better than other Aussie Blokes.
“I was born in Ireland to an Irish dad and a Dutch mother, and including my travels, I consider myself half Irish, half Dutch, half Canadian, and half Australian. I’m twice any other man! BoomTISH! (Usually only works on girls though.)”
Since coming to Adelaide, Alex lived in the same townhouse; a rental, just off O’Connell Street in North Adelaide for 17 years.
“I loved it. Loved the proximity to all the conveniences, and my easy sub 10-minute commute on my 50cc scooter into the city. Being so central, everywhere in and around Adelaide was so convenient! Amazing. I couldn’t ask for anything better.
But that all changed when Alex’ upgraded’ his mode of transport…so to speak.
“After a few years I got a motorbike and discovered the Hills, and kinda fell in love with the Adelaide Hills, and the great lifestyle here, and all that stuff,’ says Alex.
On those rides, Alex began to notice billboards for house and land packages. They turned out to be a little underwhelming, but it got him thinking about Mount Barker.
“I started looking at Mount Barker when my budget meant Adelaide was essentially out of the question,” says Alex. “A billboard offering some too-good-to-be-true house and land packages got me to take a look in Mount Barker, but it just seemed to be a dull and very formulaic ‘300-squares’ kind of deal, with houses feeling like they were right on top of one and other.”
It wasn’t until a good friend mentioned she had heard of Newenham that Alex decided to check it out for himself.
“I think I mentioned my dissatisfaction with my experience to my friend, who knew of Newenham, and mentioned this place with bigger blocks and landscaped open spaces that seemed a bit different. So the next time I visited Mount Barker, I popped into Newenham for some information,” Alex explains.
The more he looked, the more enticing Newenham seemed to be. However, there was one hurdle that proved a bit tough to get over.
“For me, the biggest obstacle with Mount Barker was the distance. A commute more than three times in duration, and 17 times as far! It took me a good while to get past that. But after seeing rows of newly built houses in Enfield (which is full of the ’ol ‘1 down, 2 or 3 up’ subdivided blocks with skinny cookie-cutter bland houses), and then some massively overpriced shoe boxes in Prospect and Bowden, I realised Mount Barker offered the space I really wanted,” Alex says.
After that, it became a two-horse race for Alex but, in the end, Newenham was the clear favourite and an easy winner.
“The more I looked at the competitor and Newenham, the more I veered away from the blandness of other developments and more towards the different approach at Newenham with larger blocks, more open spaces, more of a natural hills feel. So I set my sights on getting into somewhere I could see feeling like a real home, and that was Newenham” Alex recalls.
But there were many other factors that Alex also took into consideration as well.
“There’s everything I need here, and more. There’s Woolies, Coles, Foodland, IGA and Aldi. There’s a Dan Murphy’s, a cinema, Bunnings, and amazing craft beer at nearby Prancing Pony.”
After looking at other developments in the hills and different locations like St Clair, Prospect, Playford, and Bowden, Alex reflects on the things that he loves at Newenham.
“Newenham isn’t in the middle of the rest of the developments, and it feels less dense, much more open. I love the block sizes, the ethos, attitude, and masterplan approach.
“I also loved that there was no hard sell whatsoever. The sales consultant was so down to earth and so nice throughout…a real pleasure to deal with.”
Alex has been in his home since August 2019 and was able to choose the perfect block to build his first home with Rivergum Homes.
“The block I chose has a perfect north-south orientation with north-facing living/garden in the rear, for sunny afternoons plus it’s wonderfully quiet and private. I’ve got cows mooing on the opposite hill occasionally, and I love that!” says Alex.
“Design-wise, it’s a 3-bed, modern open-plan, contemporary Aussie home with a media room. Big back garden with lots of grass and plenty of room to grow things (which I sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten/been able to afford in Adelaide),” he explains. “I have a massive kitchen island, and a butler’s pantry — so I’m loving those! Coming from a townhouse, with a tiny kitchen, this is ‘LUXURY’!”
As to Newenham and its surrounds, Alex points out a few benefits of living in the Adelaide Hills.
“On the weekends I don’t bother going down to Adelaide if I can possibly help it! I’ve everything I need right here. Grocery stores, booze, hardware, the linear trail to run along. I’m looking forward to seeing how the amenities come together. The upcoming convenience store will be handy for milk, etc. And the retail area and farm/community garden, I’ll be interested to see how that comes together.
Further afield, he’s also pleased to be near the things that drew him to the Adelaide Hills in the first place.
“Those hills I fell in love with, are now on my doorstep. Not the 20-minute ride to get up into them, but right on my doorstep! It’s awesome!” enthuses Alex. “I love that I jump on my bike and I’m right in the Hills! And that I’m a quick ride from the likes of Prancing Pony, Longview Winery as well as the local Bunnings.”
For anyone thinking of a Newenham ‘tree-change’, we’ll let Alex have the last word.
“I come up here, and it’s a breath of fresh air. At least once a week, as I’m returning home on my bike, I find myself thinking, “Wow, this is a really nice part of the world!” I feel relaxed here. I feel happy here.”
If you’d like to know more about joining our community or securing a larger block for your family to grow at Newenham, simply call the Sales Team on 0429 107 497 or visit the Sales & Information Centre at 164 Flaxley Road, Mount Barker – you can check our open hours here.
We look forward to welcoming you to Newenham soon.
