Stephen Jones

Hi Guys,

Just when we had almost lost all hope on Australia and started looking at other escape routes from the UK ("Britain isn't working") along comes a lifeline in the shape of ACT offering STNI for Computer Programmers.

Unfortunately we have always been seduced by the lure of sun, sea and sand and been looking at - and done our homework on - those regions with a coast line (including a visit to Queensland last year.)

Can anyone out there give me solid information about life in ACT?

Do those of you who are there like living there? Do you like the changes in seasons etc. Are the housing costs affordable? Is the schooling good?
What's the shopping like? What is the employment situation?

If anyone can help with these and other important questions - such as are there many creepy crawlies in the region - we would be extremely grateful.

Oh...and some pics would be nice...if possible,,,,,

We look forward to hearing from,
Thanks in advance,

Steve & Lynn

The Bloke

No sea and sand in Canberra, I'm afraid.

wsbtroyno21

Hi Steve and Lynn,

There aren't too many of us BE members living here in the ACT but most of the ones I know of love it here. I emigrated on 17th Aug 2005....my God can't believe I have been here a year already!!!

I came to Canberra because my Australian partner had lived here for about 15 years and he loved it. I have to say that I am also a big fan of Canberra and the lifestyle it has to offer. Okay it doesn't have a beach but you can get to the coast in a couple of hours. Canberra is a planned city so the road networks is excellant and traffic jams are almost non existent. They also have a pretty good bus network but travelling by bus does take longer because the routes tend to cover several suburbs and many folk find they have to take 2 buses to get to their destination. I travel to work by bus and it takes me 1.5 hours whereas if I travelled by car it would take about 20 minutes but we can't afford a second car at the moment). Canberra is made up of several "towns" each of which are divided into suburbs. Each "town" has its own town centre with shopping malls, banks, doctors, restaurants, etc. And each suburb also has its own smaller shopping centre. The price of housing is not as bad as some States. We rent a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house for $285 per week. To buy a property you are looking at $280,000 upwards depending on the suburb and type of house. (www.allhomes.com.au)


The thing I like about living in Canberra is that it doesn't feel like you are living in a city......it feels like you are living in village with all the amenities you require on your doorstep. It has so much open space and loads of parks and lakes. It is very family oriented....lots of BBQ areas, swimming pools, museums, nature reserves, etc. We live on the south side of Canberra (which I think is more scenic than the north but I am sure others will disagree). We have views of the hills and lots of open space right on our doorstep.

I can't really comment about the schools as we don't have any experience of this yet. But there are loads of schools and I haven't heard anyone complaining about the education system in the ACT (apart from the Government trying to close some of the schools which have a low number of pupils enrolled). There are also several further education colleges and a university.

The weather on the whole is very good......sunny most days.....occassional rain (but you actually look forward to getting some rain). The winter was a shock to me....I knew Canberra had cold winters but at night it is bloody freezing and we have had quite a few frosts in the mornings (and snow in the mountains - the ski fields are only a couple of hours away too) - but nothing compared to the Scottish winters though!! It is starting to warm up a bit now and the last couple of days have been lovely. It is nice to have the changing seasons ...Canberra is lovely in the Autumn cos there are so many trees around the city.

There always seem to be plenty of jobs in the newpapers and employers are always saying there is a staff shortage. I didn't have a problem finding a job - you just have to get out there and look. (www.seek.com.au)

Shopping is pretty good......lots of shops in the bigger malls although I do miss Asda......they have Woolworths and Coles here but its not the same......I don't think they have as big a choice as the supermarkets back in the UK. Prices I find are comparable to the UK.....there are several fresh food markets where you can usually get bargains in fresh fruit, veggies and meat.

Creepy crawlies aren't really too big a problem here. We get spiders......huntsmen which can be quite big - we have had several in the house but they run away from you. We have had a lot of Redbacks in our back yard and this is a problem cos they are poisonous (deadly in fact) so you have to be aware that they are around but its not a major problem if you keep your eyes open especially when working in the garden......we had a heap of them take up residence in our BBQ when it hadn't been used for a couple of weeks - Jim took the cover off and got the shock of his life!!! We now have a heap of them in our garden shed so will have to that sorted out before they take over....lol. I haven't seen a snake yet but I am assured by Jim that they are out there....again you just have to be careful especially in long grass or out in the bush. We don't have a problem with flies (we went to Queensland last year and the flies were everywhere). There are loads of ants and some people get bitten by the mossies in summer but they don't bother me. Lots of lovely birds...cockatoos, rosellas and Galahs and heaps of Kangaroos.

I will try to post some piccies later if I can find some.


Wendy

Lord Pom Percy

l don't think creepy crawlies are anything to worry about, the whole snake and spider thing is overdone, if you look at the statistics twice as many people are killed in the Uk each year by bee stings then snakes and spiders in OZ. The only thing is that sometimes in summer flies can be annoying.

Stephen Jones

Wendy....could you please help us out with the suburbs & postcodes for those places in CANBERRA/ACT only - as I will only be able to live in ACT (and not NSW) should we come...

Steve

Mrs Rangersman

My sister lived in Canberra for nine years before she died and she loved it. When I visited her 2 years ago I loved Canberra (more than Perth) and would have preferred living there. Where she lived in the North was very green, tree-lined roads, we visited a school and were very impressed with it.
Fromwhat I understand it is quite a transient population, having a lot of government workers who live there for a while. I was impressed with the hospital (Calvary) my sister was in.

jajnlis

Steve,

Hiya mate. We have just lodged our visa application for the STNI to ACT......

I am in IT as well (2231-13 Systems Designer) and the main worry I had was that most of the jobs in Canberra are for the government/public sector. The vast majority of these require some slevel of security clearance and to get the clearance you need citizenship (well, ish anyway) As I said I was a bit worried but the people at BusinessACT have given me loads of information and put my mind at rest. I even got a call from an agent on Monday morning saying that there was a company willing to sponsor me out there on a temporary to see what happens with the STNI and that they would sponsor me if it fell through........they just have not got the skill/experience over there.....so looks promising..

The people at BusinessACT have told me that it will take about 6 months for the STNI visa process.......so hurrying up and waiting at the moment.......

The ACT government website is pretty good - loads of info......... www.act.gov.au

Also, there is some good information at Canberra Connect.....not sure of the URL but google gets u there !!!!!!!

Google Earth has Canberra in there now and is well worth a look.......

How far into the process are you ????????

For what it is worth, and subject to further enquiries the areas/suburbs we are looking at are Banks, Fadden, Bonython...........but I like the idea of buying land and building.......that is probably a long long way off though.........

Stephen Jones

Thanks,

Steve

NickyC

All Canberra postcodes start with 26 ie. 2601, 2602 etc.

wsbtroyno21

Hi Steve

If you use this link it will take you to a page on the allhomes website that lists all the "towns" in the ACT along with the suburbs within each "town"......it also lists the area of Queanbeyan but this is in NSW so you can ignore that.

http://allhomes.com.au/c/ah?a=buysr&i=1000&t=r&s=r


http://www.suburbs.canberra.net.au/html/fsregion.htm


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...bs_of_Canberra

Hope these help. I can also post you a copy of a Canberra newspaper if it is of any help. If you need any other info let me know and I will do my best to help.

Wendy

http://www.canberratourism.com.au/CA...&1=Home~&2=~&3=~

jajnlis

Wendy,

Excellent links - thanks !!!!!

I have been using the Canberra Connect site to get on to the various school websites. But I wonder if you could give us an idea of areas to steer clear of when looking for decent schools..........as i mentioned previously, we have been looking at Banks, Bonython etc etc but without knowing what an area is "really" like, it is obviously difficult !

JAJ

Tiggs+Graz

Great links - K on its way!
Adele

copa

I live in Canberra. It is a very very easy place to live with a young family. No traffic problems, clean air, blue sky, parks, sporting fields, BBQ areas, 50 m swimming pools everywhere etc etc etc.

It is a day trip to the beach, sydney, snowfields and has some great walking trails in massive national parks to the south.

My commute is 10 minutes each way and my child is in childcare right next to my workplace.

It is a city hidden within a park. It doesn't have a big city feel and buzz.. but for a young family it is perfect.

There are suburbs to avoid according to long time canberra residents .. Charnwood is one of them. You'll find though that their concept of bad crime is quaint. In Sydney people pay a lot of money to live in areas as safe as canberra's bad suburbs.

Lord Pom Percy

does it get freezing cold in winter, down to -0c degrees sometimes.

zx10r_aus

Good post. Are you on the south side or North side?

ZX....