fjm Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 My husband has been offered a job in Canberra. Please can anyone give me information (good and bad) about living in Canberra with a you family - children aged 11 and 13. Which areas are nice and which are less desirable? Schools - good public secondary schools? I’ve visited Canberra once, very briefly on route from Sydney to Melbourne on a road trip.... From what I saw, it seems modern and clean but I’m looking for info on what it’s like to live there... I see the rental market is more expensive than say Melbourne - is it easy to find a rental property? And in particular, one that would allow a small dog...? Many thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Easy to find rental property last time I was there. Yes, modern and clean. It has a reputation for being boring because there are so many civil servants living there, but I like it. There's a refreshing lack of bogans and for that reason, there aren't many areas that are "less desirable". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Most rentals find themselves on www.allhomes.com.au and pets are sometimes welcome sometimes not.Where to live usually relates more to where you’re likely to be working. You don’t want to be living in Tuggeranong and working in Gunghalin for example. Personally I’m an inner suburb gal but we had the luxury of buying our quarter acre before one needed several pounds of flesh to pay for it. Inner North is quite pleasant! Inner South equally so, but more expensive.Usual advice is avoid Charnwood, Narrabundah, Richardson, Chisholm but there are new suburbs now that are probably taking the mantle of “OMG don’t live there” from the stalwart oldies. Personally I would avoid Tuggeranong altogether - the schools there have never been really great. They were built during the era of “open space and team teaching” pedagogy. The schools are much of a muchness really, do the eyeball test and check out the neighborhood- if you baulk at living there you won’t want to send your kids to school there. There’s a strong Catholic system paralleling the govt sector and almost 50% of HS kids go to Catholic or other Private schools. Canberra Grammar and Radford are sort of the elite with eye watering fees. Canberra has a college system so most HS go up to yr 10 then college for 11&12 (there are a few exceptions).It’s a nice enough place to live, plenty going on for kids, nice environments (mostly although I thought it was looking rather seedy earlier this year). Transport - meh! You need a couple of cars if one is used for work.You could do much worse!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsey Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 As a young family, I think you will find it very nice place to live. It is "modern" (read planned) compared to Sydney and Melbourne and has really only grown substantially in the last 30 years. It was established in 1913 so not an old city or one with much history but it is in a beautiful bush setting. It is not unusual to see cockatoos and other native birds in the city centre and the odd kangaroo in the suburbs. There are always dead ones on the freeways – they are a bit of a hazard when driving at night or in the early morning. You'll probably hear some negatives about it being boring, cold and full of public servants and politicians. Not all true and rather exaggerated. It is more family-oriented and really doesn’t have a big city vibe - the population is only about 400,00, so you are not going to get the variety or number of cafes, bars, attractions, shows etc that the other bigger cities have. There is a big coffee and cycling culture here however plus lots of bush walking and outdoor activities. No beach but nice spots near the rivers to swim at and Bateman’s Bay and the NSW south coast are only 1 ½ hours away. Canberra does get cold – it was minus 6.3 degrees the other morning but the upside is we do get four seasons. Autumn and spring are spectacular with the changing leaves and cherry blossoms. Summer can and does get hot, usually peaking in February, but it is a dry heat – a bonus if you don’t like humidity! It is made up of 6 satellite “towns” so the city centre is just another hub. Public transport is bus only so a car is pretty essential because the place is so spread out. A tram system is being built but only from the northern hub of Gungahlin to the city at present. Renting is expensive – the median cost for a house rental is about $550 per week but like anywhere it depends on where you live. Inner south and inner north properties are very desirable and really pricey – these suburbs include Lyneham, Campbell, Ainslie, Turner, O’Connor, Forrest, Deakin and Kingston . Competition for vacant homes is fierce in January/February when university students are arriving to start the new academic year and military personnel are usually posting in. Some rentals do allow pets. Most suburbs are generally good. There are no areas that are really bad but there are pockets that are less desirable on both the north and south sides. Many people commute to work from one side to another. It is a bit of a joke here that any place is “no more than 20 minutes away”. Public schools are generally good but many people here do opt for private schools, usually catholic ones as the fees are much cheaper than the anglican grammar schools. It’s not for everybody. It is not endless heat, beaches and excitement but it’s a pleasant and easy place to work and live. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp.canberratimes.com.au/national/act/canberra-named-the-best-place-in-the-world-again-20141007-10r5sp.html https://hercanberra.com.au/cpcity/canberra-is-officially-cool-the-new-york-times-says-so/ http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-25/canberra-named-third-best-travel-city-by-lonely-planet/9081954 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulya Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Article in today’s news https://www.news.com.au/travel/australian-holidays/nsw-act/all-the-things-to-do-in-canberra-in-a-weekend/news-story/f63b593da5cb96beab17d8d41d050fe5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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