jon&kate

We only have the house to sell and we are off to canberra(visa's in the passport at long last !!!!).We are looking to rent for six months and then buy but are in need of some help with regards of nice areas to rent/buy in.I have checked out the real estate sites and have seen some nice houses at around $300-350k for a 3 bed in the tuggernauld area.Are there any places to avoid????

jajnlis

Hiya

We are off to Canberra in 3 weeks.........

We are looking for rentals initially in the region of $350-500 per week, but we need 4 bedrooms, which cuts the choice down quite a bit ! As for buying, the price range we are looking at for a decent house is about 450-550k

We are looking to settle in Tuggeranong, Calwell specifically. As everyone keeps telling me, there are no "bad" areas in Canberra ! Having been over in April, I must admit to subscribing to that view........each "burb" has its own merits.......we chose the Tuggeranong area because it is close to the bush but far enough from the "CBD" to make you feel that you are leaving work.......not sure if that makes sense to you

Anyway, it all boils down to what you want and what you can afford. The Towards 2020 program for the education system also had a little bearing on our decisions, since some schools are being closed/amalgamated. But for an outsider looking in, the program makes sense.

Congrats on the visa though - bet you keep looking at the page and thinking "was that all ??"

Good luck and see you in Canberra !!!! When you looking at moving over ????

nev_n_angie

Hiya!

We are off to Canberra in September - we've got a house in Gungahlin - as far as I know there are many lovely areas..

http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/det...tory_id=560759

this was sent on another forum website

I hope it helps!!

Angie

jon&kate

CANT OPEN THAT LINK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Am so gutted that we did not put the house on the market before we got visa's but didnt want to jinx anything.We will be on the plane within days of house sale so fingers crossed for september time.We have been looking at childcare for our 3 yr old and seems lots of places at good rates.I opened a bank account yesterday so things are starting to feel very real.What line of work are you all in?

jajnlis

We are in the process of packing now - John Mason (I would recommend them, but others on here probably would not) and the house sale completion is this Friday......

I am a (yawn) IT Network designer..........

What about yourself ????

jon&kate

I am in the printing trade but would like a change to be honest.We are not shipping anything,starting afresh.

nev_n_angie

Hidden battlers in ACT suburbs
Emma Macdonald



Narrabundah and The Causeway have been identified as Canberra's most disadvantaged suburbs in a new national survey which shows entrenched intergenerational poverty and social problems suburb by suburb.
Dropping off the Edge: the Distribution of Disadvantage in Australia was written by University of Sydney emeritus Professor of Social Work Tony Vinson, who ranked suburbs by indicators of socio-economic disadvantage, including low family income, unemployment, criminal convictions, disabilities, lack of school qualifications, child abuse and limited computer access.
Using data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink and the Australian Health Insurance Commission, as well as a broad range of departments from each of the state and territory governments, the survey found that just 1.7 per cent of postcodes across Australia contained seven times their share of the major indicators that accompanied disadvantage.
The survey found the ACT's most disadvantaged suburbs following Narrabundah and The Causeway were Kingston, Fyshwick, Majura, Pialligo, Symonston, Braddon, Campbell, Reid, Turner, and Oaks Estate.
The major characteristics of the ACT's most disadvantaged postcodes included rental stress, home purchase stress, lack of Year 12 completions, limited internet access, low work skills and qualifications, criminal convictions and domestic violence.
The survey was a joint project with Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services which yesterday called on the Government to commit to a long-term strategy to address pockets of disadvantage, noting increased economic prosperity across Australia was not infiltrating these particular "poverty postcodes".
The report noted the situation was worsening in areas which were already struggling, but was not spreading to other areas. Professor Vinson said his findings "demand recognition of a common pattern associated with inadequate education and training, unemployment, low income, poor health and 'making ends meet' by criminal means, resulting in high rates of convictions and imprisonment. Where these characteristics are concentrated, there, too, we find high levels of confirmed child maltreatment".
He nominated education as a key determinant in disadvantage, saying it played a crucial role in the onset and persistence of disadvantage.
Australian Council of Social Service president Lin Hatfield Dodds said the Government needed to "use its budget surplus to address the needs of Australians who are doing it tough.
"In these good economic times, no Australian should be missing out on the help they need to have a decent quality of life."
Executive director of Catholic Services Australia Frank Quinlan said the Government now had a map to show it "where public policy can be used to overcome these long-term problems". He said programs needed to be implemented with a 10-year time-frame in mind given the failure of short-term policies to address entrenched disadvantage. "It's not just unemployment, it's not just health, it's not just education, it's a range of circumstances that hold Australians back and we really need to be addressing the full range of circumstances that these people face if we are going to bring them out of disadvantage."
Family and Community Services Minister Mal Brough said the Government wanted to "do whatever we can to work with the other states and territory agencies and governments as well as the not-for-profit sector and non-government-organisations to ensure everyone benefits from the economy we have". "What the report shows is more could be done to improve the access [to support] that some people experience." Nationally, the most disadvantaged suburbs were named as: Windale and Bowraville-Kempsey in NSW; Rosebud and Braybrook in Victoria; Mt Morgan and Woodridge in Queensland; North Western Adelaide and Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands in South Australia; East Kimberley and Kwinana in West Australia; Southern Midlands and Break O'Day in Tasmania. Data was not available for the Northern Territory.

jon&kate

Best give the inner south area a miss then?.

nev_n_angie

I only had info from hubby's employer to go on......so we've gone for Gungahlin!

Everyone I know who is there, or has been, suggests that there are no real bad areas - just areas that are not as affluent as others.

We will not be buying in Canberra - we'll look to buy in QLD for when we decide our next move - probably we rent itout until we move up?? Who knows??!!!

At this point in time, I'm all formed out! And apparently there's loads more forms to complete when we get there!!!

I hope the text that I pasted help!!!

Angie

wanderingwombat

The Causeway - nothing much has changed then in a long time.

Kingston - I would have thought a bit yuppie by now

Fyshwick - from memory there was only a couple of run down farm houses (Commercial service suburb),

Majura - a few farm houses and turf farms

Pialligo - airport and a few houses,

Symonston - biggest claim to fame are the sheep which are not bright enough to break the poverty cycle

Campbell, Reid, Turner- I would have thought a yuppie by now,

Oaks Estate - nothing much has changed then in a long time.


WW

3littlefigs

Hi there
Hope you don't mind me hoping onto your thread.
We arrived in Canberra about 5 weeks ago. Although I have lived here before. But it is almost a differant place since I left a million years ago. We have done a massive house hunt since we arrived and haver decided on a house in Jerrabomberra. It is NSW so no good for any of you guys coming out on the live in Canberra campaign, but it has a great primary school and no government housing, loads of park and byou get to own your own land and not just lease it as you do in Canberrra. Also has nice community feel. Not sure where that article came from but seems to me it couldn't be further from the truth. Inner south is soooo expensive. We would have loved to have lived there and we have a fairly good budget of $850,000. But we could on get something in need of doing up for that with 3 beds. Crazy. Fyshwich is industrial. Kingston is soo yuppie its not funny. Tuggernong is good. Stay away from Richardson Well at least some parts, and Kambah. Still these place do have some good streets too, but too hard to see. Calwell is great also Conder, and Gordon. They both have good schools also. They are new suberbs so its all nice and the shopping centers are great. Fadden and Gowrie are good and you can get nice places in Monash. I don't know much about Gunghalin, but took the kids to Yerrabie ponds the other day and it was great. We had fun and there are loads of young families around. Houses look nice but just not very established. But think it would be a good place to make friends as everyone is new to the area. All a bit close together for us. Big houses no land. Chapman in Weston area is great and has a fantastic school but you have to live in the area to get in. Farrer is also another suberb that is great. Deakin is so expensive but good if you can afford it, and curtin is going that way too. Bruce is in Belconnen but so close for commuting and really nice, not sure about schools though. Have no idea. Stay away from Charnwood, I have heard not such good things though I haven't been there. I hope this is of some help to you. Although everyones ideas are differant. If there is anything else you want to know just ask. Also we used John Mason removels aswell and I things don't arrive for a couple of weeks yet. We have been impressed by there service so far. Except they forgot the head of the vacume cleaner. I ahev to add it to the stuf we bought. Make sure you go around the house before they leave. Don't let them do it. Good luck with your move and give us a yell when you get here.

3littlefigs

Oh yeah and don't forget your coat it is freezing.

Vicky88

Campbell, Reid & Turner are great suburbs if you have the money to buy there.

Gungahlin, not a place I would want to live as the houses are on top of each other. Depends on your budget of course, but I would prefer one of the older inner suburbs that actually allow you to watch your telly without your neighbour being able to peer in.

Toryglen-Boy

i live in Calwell, and its nice and quite ... not much shopping, and how many times can you go the Tuggeranong Hyperdome without being bored out of your nut? but that said ... its nice enough

its jsut appears to me that everythgin good happens in the Northside, and all roads lead to Belconnen, and if your way down on the south on Canberra,it can be quite a trek into Civic ...

its cold, but not anywhere near as cold as Glasgow

sasbear

Hi,

Not too far from us really - a 15 minute drive.

We will have to catch up
Sarah