We are currently looking at applying for a VISA sponsored by ACT. My skills are I.T related and just wondering if anyone out there is located in the ACT/Canberra area.

We have two young kids - currently 2 and 3 years old.....

Anyone got any good feedback on emaplyment in that area - I.T Mgr...... and also with regards to houses, bringning up a family etc....

Cheers in advance!

Hi, I live with my husband in Canberra, we have been here for 2 half years. We came here from the UK as one family member lives here. My 2 grown kids decided to live in Melbourne as it is more cosmopolitan and a much bigger city. Canberra is either loved or hated. The people who give it a chance say it is Australia's hidden secret, a good place to live, clean, new, modern and safer than most places. Don't expect a large city such as Dublin or Cork, my family come from Cavan. It is more the size of a large town. There are no great historical landmarks of significant age. The city surrounds a large lake, Burley Griffin, which has lots of open areas for leisure activities such as biking or bbqs. There are lots of expos in the year and various festivals. You must realise that Australia is so vast to get to most major cities it is a flight away, Sydney is a 3 hour drive from Canberra and Melbourne 7-8 hours drive. The government is based here, so most jobs in the government are safe bets. I.T. is big here too. My son comes here from Melbourne to train gov. :regular_smile:depts. in I.T. software. The city is very nice, and the surrounding suburbs are nice too. It is about and hour and half from the mountains which can be clearly seen, you can ski there in the winter too. It is also 2 hours drive to the coast. Which I think is amazing, The coastline is stunning with many hidden treasures. If you are into night life and the young scene it's not the place for you, but if you want a safe environment in which to bring up a young family then it is great. Good schools too. There is the university which is first class. It is very different living here, and I do get bored sometimes as I am used to a larger town. I think on the whole it's a safe bet for a young family. It is not green, it's very very dry, there are lots of kangaroos and wildlife, amazing parrots, we can grow citrus fruits such as lemon trees. Like Ireland there is not a lot of choice when it comes to shopping but it is adequate. There are great museums and galleries, some of the best I've seen including a children's science activity museum. There is a zoo, a wonderful botanic grarden, great eating places and fantastic coffee! The houses are more expensive in Canberra but in Queanbeyan they are a little cheaper which is right next door. You can have an amazing house if you can afford it, and it is cheaper to buy than in Ireland or the UK. Do I want to go back to the UK. No not now, as I made the choice with a firm intention not to look back. Do I miss family and friends, yes desperately. Phone calls are cheap, and you can always go on holiday back home. It isn't easy emigrating, I do think, like me, once you make the decision, don't look back. Don't be regretful, it's a life changing experience and you have to be pretty brave to go ahead. Good luck with everything.

Fab information and most helpful Mazyb Frasermac - I keep looking on here for information and have used Liveincanberra and they seem to be helpful on the meet up side of things once you are there but also have some information on the schooling with links to relevant websites - good to have someone living it tho to give some honest and helpful advice who has first hand experience as it is always the best! We are hoping to be out there by September if everything goes to plan visa granted just a couple of things that need to be tied up now - always good to hear that there will be others in the same boat as us! We like the thought of having the best of both worlds skiing if we want to in the winter and then the summer weather to go to the coast if we want to. Heard good and bad things but I get the general feeling that it is like most places you make it what you want it to be?? Good place to look for the cost of housing as well is on the allhomes site I spend many afternoon looking at what is available and the costs. Good luck!

Mazyb thanks for the info.... we are always looking for peop who live there as that is always the most honest... and its been hard to find some feedback on ACT....

Now I will need to have a good look at the employment side now..... the amount of governement jobs can be a draw back as it seems like mst are for Australian Citizens only.... speaking to some recruitment agencies to find out the low down on that.... mind you, recruitment agencies won't always give you the truth.....

Excellent summary Mazyb!

Although Canberra has nothing historical (oldest building would be about 1850 from memory and only a couple of that vintage) it does have a host of tourist attractions as it houses the national buildings.

It is a bit of an odd city as it covers quite an area (close to 50km from top to bottom) as the suburbs have sprawled out but they are divided into almost satellite areas - the major areas are built around lakes although Lake BG is of course the biggest (and most attractive). Tuggeranong, Belconnen and Gungahlin all have lakes, Woden is the only town centre area which doesnt.

Travelling anywhere in ACT is relatively easy compared with most cities but the Canberrans do complain about the rush hour traffic when you might actually have to stop at traffic lights in a queue for a few minutes

Education is generally good and we have a strong private system alongside the government system - perhaps more parents than in any other state choose to send their kids to private schools (mainly Catholic). Childcare places are at a premium though as this is very much a two income town.

I dont know what the average wage is for Canberra but I would think it is well above the national average of $61k and the cost of living sort of reflects that to some extent. Renting is quite expensive but not as expensive as in central Sydney or Melbourne. The best realestate site for Canberra and surrounding regions is allhomes

Hey Q -

Welcome to all the ACT wannabes

Sas

l haven't been there but from what l heard it s a nice place with lots of parks and lakes and national parks and scenic mountains nearby and that it has the lowest crime rate of all the large cities in OZ.
Although the beaches are 1 hour away they are very good , unspoilt and uncrowded.
However some people say its boring.

NEVER boring imo - always something going off..nice to stay at home on a weekend and catch up with being lazy

My OH has secured a job from the UK to work with a Gov Agency (he went to the Australia House expo this time last year) so no I am not too sure that that is right what the agencies have said.... maybe worth a try thinking about that. We are going on a RSMS visa which they have sponsored.

Faircity we are applying for a 176 Visa - State Sponsored and getting mixed messages from recruitment and migration agencies.....

Surprise surprise that no one knows!!!!!!

Quoll - I am lol with your comments on the drivers impatience. Yes they do get het up with the slightest wait in a traffic queue! Crazy driving here, overtaking on the inside is still very dodgy in my opinion. Oh yes, we have 'safety cameras' here now, I thought we left those back in the UK, but they are becoming more popular. Oh yes, we have random breath tests and you have to have your driving licence with you when you drive or you'll be fined. My UK licence was accepted here, we did not need to have a driving test.

Sas - Quoll, I think we should help these guys if they are successful with visas and jobs. Give them a bit of advice on good areas to find housing and schools. I would have found that very difficult if I hadn't had help from my sister who's lived here for years. She steered me in the right direction.

What the agency's are saying is unfortunately the case. Basically without citizenship you don't have much chance unless you have a VERY specific skill set which is difficult to fill locally or you are willing to take a role at around the APS6/EL1 level with a skill set which is really beyond those levels (and for which you would generally be paid more in a commercial setting). Even in these instances here on the ground you will be more likely to secure a contract than a perm job - although there is a move by the goverment to lower the number of IT contractors in its ranks.

It can be very difficult to secure work here in Canberra (no different to anywhere else!) So be prepared for a long search and ensure you have enough savings to see you through while you are looking.

LouH my wife is an executive PA/Secretary so she might well be the saving grace!!! Seems to be plenty of admin based jobs....

What % of jobs in Canberra are Gov related?

Contracting is no problem at all as I have done that in the past year or two in Ireland.

I think I heard (anyone out there who knows better please let me know) that we now have more private than government jobs (but its a fairly close thing and would I guess include retail workers etc).

Options open to you other than federal government are state government, the universities, loads of consulting jobs (although you still have to be careful if the consultant's client is a government department - some still apply the citizenship rule to consultants), we have a number of non for profit and membership based organizations and a tiny number of corporates who need people (eg Raytheon).

Contracting is very well paid in this city so if you can get a contracting gig you should do really well out of it (rates over $100 ph are not uncommon if you have the skills in demand).

Loads and loads and loads of admin jobs so your wife will be fine I'm sure.

Good luck!