diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-matrix-trigger.yaml b/.github/workflows/e2e-matrix-trigger.yaml
index 4dee6f967..8bd5169d8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-matrix-trigger.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-matrix-trigger.yaml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ on:
       location:
         type: string
         description: "the azure location to run the e2e test in"
-        default: "eastus"
+        default: "southcentralus"
   push:
     branches: [main]
   workflow_run:
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       contents: read
       id-token: write # This is required for requesting the JWT
-      statuses: write # ./.github/actions/commit-status/*          
+      statuses: write # ./.github/actions/commit-status/*
     needs: [resolve]
     uses: ./.github/workflows/e2e-matrix.yaml
     with:
@@ -32,4 +32,4 @@ jobs:
     secrets:
       E2E_CLIENT_ID: ${{ secrets.E2E_CLIENT_ID }}
       E2E_TENANT_ID: ${{ secrets.E2E_TENANT_ID }}
-      E2E_SUBSCRIPTION_ID: ${{ secrets.E2E_SUBSCRIPTION_ID }}
\ No newline at end of file
+      E2E_SUBSCRIPTION_ID: ${{ secrets.E2E_SUBSCRIPTION_ID }}
diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e.yaml b/.github/workflows/e2e.yaml
index b60c30627..9343e0b08 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e.yaml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e.yaml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ on:
       location:
         type: string
         description: "the azure location to run the e2e test in"
-        default: "eastus"
+        default: "southcentralus"
     #   k8s_version:
     #     type: string
     #     default: "1.27"
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ jobs:
     permissions:
       contents: read
       id-token: write # This is required for requesting the JWT
-      statuses: write # ./.github/actions/commit-status/*      
+      statuses: write # ./.github/actions/commit-status/*
     env:
       AZURE_SUBSCRIPTION_ID: ${{ secrets.E2E_SUBSCRIPTION_ID }}
     steps:
diff --git a/Makefile-az.mk b/Makefile-az.mk
index b7fa42b0d..5db0a0864 100755
--- a/Makefile-az.mk
+++ b/Makefile-az.mk
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ az-mkrg: ## Create resource group
 	fi
 
 az-mkacr: az-mkrg ## Create test ACR
-	az acr create --name $(AZURE_ACR_NAME) --resource-group $(AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP) --sku Basic --admin-enabled -o none
+	az acr create --name $(AZURE_ACR_NAME) --resource-group $(AZURE_RESOURCE_GROUP) --location $(AZURE_LOCATION) \
+		--sku Basic --admin-enabled -o none
 	az acr login  --name $(AZURE_ACR_NAME)
 
 az-mkaks: az-mkacr ## Create test AKS cluster (with --vm-set-type AvailabilitySet for compatibility with standalone VMs)