Family moving to Canberra

[Iano76]

Hi I'm possibly moving to work in Canberra from the UK, we will be looking at renting to start with, can anyone help with which areas would be suitable for me my wife and 3 kids (son 16, son 13 & daughter 13 (twins)) we like the outdoor life walking/hiking etc and the 2 youngest are in the air cadets and army cadets, have heard lots about areas not to look at but am looking at suggestions as to where might suit us so we can research them a bit more! Thanks! ? 

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Welcome on board @Iano76 I have never lived in Canberra @Quoll or @Peach are two members who may be able to advise. We did have a member looking earlier this year and she said Casey, Nicholls and Lyneham 

[Iano76]

Thanks Pom Queen, i'll have a look at those places and hopefully @Quoll 7 @Peach may be able to help me out too!

[Quoll]

Where will you be working? That's usually the guide as to which side of town you might want to look at.  Then, what else is it that you want from a suburb?  

In ACT most High Schools stop at year 10 and then there is a secondary college system for years 11 and 12 (your 16 yr old should look at applying now for year 11 - which could be difficult given you have no address).  Canberra isn't a great place for cadets (it's a very PC leftist kind of place so cadets aren't that popular) but there are some sea cadets I know and I am sure there would be others as well but none, as far as I am aware, associated with schools (CGS used to have cadets many many moons ago).  Around half of Canberra parents choose non government schools for their HS kids - I leave you to judge why that may be - but they do tend to return to Gov colleges. Narrabundah usually gets the guernsey for best ACT Govt college but it's hard to get into, everyone wants their kids there.  On the private side, CGS (Canberra Grammar) or Radford are the two usual ones but you need to have a substantial income to afford them.

In general, the further out you go the cheaper the rentals and, generally, the newer the build.  It used to be that you got the quarter acre blocks in the inner suburbs and the blocks got smaller and the houses got bigger the further out you went but the Inner burbs have been largely gentrified now with some nice shiny new places and some subdivision of blocks and lots of apartments and quite phenomenal rents. You can still get the odd cheap rental in the older suburbs but the houses will not be the all singing all dancing McMansions that may be part of your dream (they may be weatherboard with tin roof, there are still a few around).

The Tuggeranong Valley has a sort of boganish reputation and all the schools in that area were built in the era of open space learning and team teaching - many Tuggeranong parents drive their kids up into the Woden Valley to get a more traditional environment. 

The newer suburbs can be a tad soulless - it takes a while for the trees and gardens to grow and for an Inner North girl like myself they appear much like sterile building sites but I have never had to live in one and have been in Canberra long enough to see most of them being built. Most suburbs have a small shopping complex with various offerings - usually a supermarket, a takeaway and possibly a pub of some description with sundry niche shops if you are lucky.

Travel from the outer suburbs can be tricky - everyone wants to travel in rush hour!  Some of the roads are a nightmare so be sure, when you are checking the suburbs, that you do "the trip to work" at rush hour just to see what it is like. Also check out public transport - the buses between the hubs are pretty good but if you rely on them for the suburban service they can get a bit ropey.

Best place for accommodation is www.allhomes.com.au - they pretty much have the monopoly but be aware that the fabulous photos often bear little resemblance to the real thing.   There are some areas that are cheap for a reason - it's been a while but Charnwood never used to have the best of reputations and I don't know if it's improved now that it is no longer the outlier, then, down South, Richardson, (lower) Chisholm and Isabella Plains are probably better avoided.  I can vouch for Ainslie - close to Civic, good buses, nice shops but it's not for everyone and we did buy there over 30 years ago!  All depending on your budget, look at Campbell, Reid, Griffith, Yarralumla, Downer, Watson, Red Hill, (upper) Narrabundah (Griffith side), Hawker, Aranda, Cook imho

The walking/hiking thing is irrelevant really as there is bush easily accessible from almost anywhere (these are from my daily walk up Mt Ainslie). 

 

 

[Quoll]

Oh, and the biggie, sorry, should have mentioned it - if you are on a temporary visa (457) then  talk to the ACT Department of Education International Students branch to see whether you will be up for school fees - ACT is the most expensive jurisdiction in the country for temporary visa holder school fees ($10k+ per child pa) but there are some occupations which are exempt from fees and you would need to talk to IS to work out whether your occupation is one of them or not. If not, then you need to build that into your package so your employer covers it.  It is actually cheaper to send your kids to private schools on a 457 (the Catholic ones anyway) than it is to send them to a Gov school. I would recommend calling IS, speak to a real person then get them to put their answer in writing ahead of you going there - you don't want to be stung on enrolment.

[Iano76]

Hi Quoll,

I'll hopefully be coming out to work on the new tram line from Gungahlin to the city centre, not exactly sure where the maintenance depot will be but I'm guessing its some where in the north east area, the depot stop is somewhere between Wells station drive & Sullivan's Creek?

Not sure what Visa we are on but the company have told me that there has been some changes recently and the one they have got for me is a permanent one which also allows the OH to find employment as well?

Income wise we will be looking at around 100k (Aus $) not sure where that will get us and what standard of living we can expect to have? We are far from flash and prefer the out door life but coupled with a nice home, we currently have a 4 bed detached house so would like something similar if possible?

The schooling looks a bit of a nightmare, the eldest has left school over here and is doing A levels and an Engineering Degree at a college, my youngest son goes to a dyslexic school and the daughter is in high school (were all over the place on the school run! lol)

What would you suggest school wise then? Private? What is "IS" what body are they to find out if we are exempt?

 

Thanks for the help and the OH will love the pic's you've shown me!

[Quoll]

1 hour ago, Iano76 said:

Hi Quoll,

I'll hopefully be coming out to work on the new tram line from Gungahlin to the city centre, not exactly sure where the maintenance depot will be but I'm guessing its some where in the north east area, the depot stop is somewhere between Wells station drive & Sullivan's Creek?

Not sure what Visa we are on but the company have told me that there has been some changes recently and the one they have got for me is a permanent one which also allows the OH to find employment as well?

Income wise we will be looking at around 100k (Aus $) not sure where that will get us and what standard of living we can expect to have? We are far from flash and prefer the out door life but coupled with a nice home, we currently have a 4 bed detached house so would like something similar if possible?

The schooling looks a bit of a nightmare, the eldest has left school over here and is doing A levels and an Engineering Degree at a college, my youngest son goes to a dyslexic school and the daughter is in high school (were all over the place on the school run! lol)

What would you suggest school wise then? Private? What is "IS" what body are they to find out if we are exempt?

 

Thanks for the help and the OH will love the pic's you've shown me!

Sorry, International Students Section at Dept of Ed.  https://www.education.act.gov.au/school_education/international_students

You might want to clarify the Permanent Visa number, that will be important for IS. If it is permanent and not just the 4 year 457 you won’t need to talk to IS, it’ll be free (or as free as it is for anyone)

Might I suggest that you leave your eldest to finish his course with relatives or friends. He isn’t going to get that in Canberra. Faced with a possible move at about that age for our kids we looked at Boarding (they were at CGS so it was a real possibility) so there was continuity of education. There is a new University of Canberra College program which might be of interest but it’s new since I left - compared with UK A levels and degree though I wouldn’t think it would be the answer.

There is no dyslexic school in Canberra and dyslexia isn’t specifically funded under disability programs. Canberra schools don’t do dyslexia very well really, it’s very much up to the schools as to how they fund additional support (if any). 

Your income is about an ordinary average for Canberra, certainly not flash. Your wife might pick up work but that will rather depend on her skill set. Many positions in Canberra are Australian Public Service positions which require citizenship and there are quite a few ex APS personnel who are hanging about having been cut and looking for new positions. She could work on a 457 as well but it’s more tenuous and temp dependents struggle more than PRs.

You will get more bang for your buck the further out you go - there’s a rental across the road from us which is on the market now for about $1200 PW but I think that is ridiculous. Newer builds are further out. If you could find one in Hall that would be lovely but it’s a bit expensive too. Hackett is nice, it’s inner and you’d be going against the traffic to work. Harrison is newer - wouldn’t be my choice but I’m a snob ?.  Hackett feeds into Lyneham or Campbell HS - of the two I would go for Lyneham especially if you have a kid with special needs. Both feed into Dickson College which isn’t bad. 

The tram has divided Canberrans, much like Brexit. I’ve yet to meet anyone that thinks it a good idea and the desecration of Northborne Ave brought tears to my eyes earlier this year. It might be wise not to tell folk what you’re working on LOL.