Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Hi all, Looking for some feedback on your thoughts about living and working in Canberra. I am an RN living in NZ, Hubby auto electrician and manufacturing engineer. Would love to hear your thoughts positive or negative :rofl:!!!!!!!

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

you got a new job there or looking at choices?

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

It's as good a place as any to live in Australia if that is what you want to do.

It has 4 definite seasons (a chilly winter here at the moment) which is a bonus. Now that we are out of drought it is looking a whole lot better than it was - but, then, most of the east coast was looking pretty sad for a while there.

We have excellent facilities, couple of hours to beach or snow and just a tad further to Sydney if you fancy the big smoke. Education is fine - there is a very popular private system alongside the government system.

It has all the benefits of a big country town and a city without the downsides of either really.

Accommodation is expensive, amenities are quite expensive, the average wage is well above the national average. Most of the more affordable housing is out in the burbs which is a bit boring but even with the worst of days the longest commute isnt going to be bad.

Many people on here will say it is boring as batshit but they havent looked at what is actually going on pretty much all the time. There is a thriving arts community, sport is king, restaurants are excellent and we even have street cafes nowadays.

If you are comparing it with Christchurch - our earthquakes are much smaller!

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

I'm an Australian living in Europe with my husband and 3 year old (another on the way). I'm from Sydney but have recently thought about returning to Canberra. Sydney is just getting too big and expensive for my liking. It's completely changed since I left in 2000. I dont' feel like it's a good place for non-corporate types anymore. :( Also, I work in the public sector and there are lots of public service jobs in Canberra which appeal to me.

I remember thinking Canberra was the most boring place on earth, though, when I was 16 and went there for a visit. Back then, it wasn't exactly throbbing with nightlife. But now with a kid and a second on the way I'm thinking more about being near the bush, being able to take the kids swimming, good schools and cutting down on the commute.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Canberra actually has a relatively young population with many university students and has quite good nightlife. The economy has been booming for the last couple of years and there's been a huge amount of construction going on and it seems like the population is growing fast. Finding work seems to be really easy. Both my sons got jobs without even trying. My 18 year old is a part time waiter in a fancy restaurant earning $25-$30 per hour with tips. Average incomes are probably double that of the UK or NZ. The flip side is that it's an expensive place if you have to pay rent or, worse, buy a house. Groceries are also expensive, although we do have Aldi and Costco is opening next week! The climate is very good - winters about the same as Chch and summers are warmer but rarely unpleasantly hot.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

One question. I'm a Sydney girl and I love to swim. Not so into frying myself in the sun though. :p I vaguely remember going swimming at this really nice swimming hole in the Murrumbidgee (sp?) last time I was in Canberra, oh, 19 years ago. Does it still exist? Any other nice places to take the family swimming near Canberra? These things are important to me...

Too bad about house prices but nice to hear that there are lots of jobs.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Many people on here will say it is boring as batshit but they havent looked at what is actually going on pretty much all the time. There is a thriving arts community, sport is king, restaurants are excellent and we even have street cafes nowadays.
Anticipating the backlash here then!!!
I like Canberra but I have reservations about bringing my family there, especially as my son gets older.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

There're a couple of them. The one I used to go to is called Casuarina Sands. It's still there and is a great place to cool off on one of those hot summer afternoons.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

I'm not to sure about the swimming spots.

I go to Canberra a few times a year and I actually really like it and I don't really understand why it gets such a bad wrap from like 90% of the population?? I think it might have something to do with every Australian primary school student being taken away on a excursion around all of the government offices. So this automatically makes people associate Canberra with boredom:rofl:

Its got some great restaurants, cinemas, fairly good shopping (department stores etc), well paying jobs, lots of good outdoor activities you can do and is only a few hours from the ski fields which is one of the best things going for it IMO. Canberra is a very well layed out town because it has been designed as the Capital from the word go. It does get extremely cold -for Australia- and is a dust bowl in summer but there are far worse places you can live.

Nowhere near the beach but i think it would be a rather nice place to live:thumbup:.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

I have been here for the past 15 years and wouldnt want to live anywhere else. I work in Canberra but live out of town. My commute is 75 Kms each way and it takes me approx 50 minutes to get to work.

There are several public hospitals and a few private ones. Good auto electricians are in short supply so both of you should be able to find work easy enough.

The housing rental market is very tight and that pushing up the rent. House prices in general are about par with the rest of Australia.

Good luck with it all

Barney:thumbup:

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Yes, most kids leave Canberra once they are done with uni - unless they follow parental footsteps into trades or the PS. Some of them return with their families, others dont. It is gradually getting the more multi-generational family feel to it as the kids born in the 60s and 70s are having their families with grandparents around.

Having 3 unis and several TAFEs in town means that there is usually quite a bit going on for young adults by way of social life but most kids want to try the bright lights for a while and as an affluent population, many head off to UK/Europe/USA when they have finished school or uni.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Hi
No not got a job yet but already applied for nursing registration and an agency i have applied to dosnt see it a problem getting work. Thanks for your reply !

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Fantastic aldi and cosco had them in scotland and used them a lot. To be honest i find it expensive to live here and rentals are expensive to. We dont get much change out of 100 bucks for two or three bags of groceries. I think i will earn more money in canberra than here mind you and thats an nice incentive. I think i will get work but was concerned about hubby, although hes an auto electrician to trade he was in the car industry 20yrs + in uk and is in the same trade here. Hes desperate to get out of it and prior to coming here was a manufacturing engineer for terex dealt with they big earth moving trucks, and used to travel esp to america to fix them. He loved his job but dont know if he can get something similar in canberra or he needs to continue his trade?

The winters dont bother me i like the fact there are seasons. Being from scotland im used to the cold even in summer lol.

Also we are not into night clubs, but do like nice restaurants and a few wines to un-wined. We prefer the quieter lifestyle, hence why we moved from the city of christchurch to a more rural town which we love. Just life un-certain here. So time to move on ! thanks for your reply

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Hi Barney thanks for your reply. Think i will get work no problem, hows the manufacturing industry in canberra? Although hubby an Auto electrician hes also a manufacturing engineer, which is the job he really wants, he worked for a company called Terex in uk similar to CAT earth moving trucks. Also he has been offered a job here recently as a as a service tech for air compressors, hes in discussions, mabe another skill to add to his CV. Anything technical hes fab at. Also house prices for rentals expensive here. We rented a 3bed town house in the city for $350 per wk when we first arrived. We then bought a new house a yr ago which again was expensive and sadly will have to sell eventually.

Can i please ask why dont you live nearer town and your place of work thats a long commute?

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Hi thanks for your reply, the reason i was thinking canberra was because i dont like busy city living, i have been told its about the size of chch which is big enough for me. We live in a little rural community which we love 22k from city. But it has all we need and want. Not into clubs and bars but do like nice dinning and wine , like cycling and walking and love to shop so nice shopping facilities a must. (Lost that in chch) I aslo like the fact its not isolated, hubby wanted to go to perth which is isolated. We can take a nice weekend trip to Sydney or the beach if we want to. Being from scotland i dont think it will ever get as cold as that. i know its cold here just now but still warmer than scotlands summers some days. Are people in canberra friendly, i would talk to anyone in fact ive been told i would talk the hind legs of a donkey! i am out going and love company, ive been told by a girl i work with who stayed there for 7 yrs that the people of canberra ignore you and not as friendly as kiwis, she also said its a very clinical place, nothing wrong with that i say. I do make friends easy so hope i wont have a prob !

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Hi quoll thanks for your reply, i have researched the history of australian earthquakes and emailed someone from geoscience Australia regarding the most seismic areas. From the reply i got Canberra is the least seismic in the whole of Aus, i know they have had smaller events in the past with nothing significant. WA, Melbourne, Queensland, and many other places had significant events in the past and apparently Adelaide the biggest hazard and has a major fault line. History does repeat itself unfortunately, so im aiming for the safest option. In saying that chrischurch although has many faults and as now known has many blind faults, i would say definitely a high risk here. Some faults havent ruptured in a couple of hundred years and are due to go anytime soon. I didnt know we had earthquakes here or i wouldnt have came here. But hey i have been in them all and lost colleagues and know people who have lost family its a sad situation and life to short so making a move hopefully this year or end of next. On a whole canberra sounds exactly what im looking for !

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

In that case look at Murrumbateman or Yass as a place to live or Queanbeyan. All actually NSW but could be classed as outer suburbs of Canberra and, particularly the first two pretty rural but easy to get into Canberra via a decent road.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Guys thanks for all your replies, really appreciate your help, have another question, is it worth shipping our furniture? Reasons to why ! when we came to NZ we were told its cheaper to buy here (Bull****) i say to that it has cost us thousands to furnish our new home and nothing under a yr old and didnt do it with buying cheap stuff either. Big mistake wish i had shipped my whole house from uk. Any way we live and learn. Dont know wither to sell everything and get a furnished rental or take it ? We arrived here with a couple of suit cases and clothes and some other important items shipped but nothing big. So dont want to make the same mistake again.

Advice on this be great !:blink:

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Cheers so are these pretty nice areas to live then? do they have good shopping facilities and how far to travel to city because i think thats were i will get work.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Compare cost of shipping with cost of selling and re-buying. Plus is you get all new furniture suited to your new home (do NOT go furnished, can be a real pain and do you really want to sit on others dryed out fluids???), negative is you arrive with just a bean bag to sit on and have to look around for furniture shops and sort out deliveries etc.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Well you said you liked rural!!! They are about 20 mins from decent shopping areas on outskirts of Canberra, the first two. Queanbeyan has shops and Bowlo and other stuff, is a small town. I just thought that they would also be a bit cheaper than the main Canberra suburbs and would be a good base as an introduction to the area, then, once you have settled in and got used to the place you could make a more informed decision.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Yeh no what you mean had to do it here! think originally i wil head over on my own and maybe flat share or something. Will give me time to explore areas and poss rentals houses. Made so many mistakes and would do things differently this time round. Do you no off hand how long it takes to ship to Auz?

P.s i didnt even have a bean bag when i arrived here would have came in handy lol

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

God knows how long it takes, UK to Oz was 6 weeks, NZ to Oz must be half that time at most. Ask shipping companies, they will give you accurate estimates.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Sounds like you would suit Canberra fine. There are heaps of restaurants and wineries within the region. I know of one area that is just restaurant after restaurant along the street with every kind of cuisine you can think of from McDonalds to Etheopian, I think its in a suburb called Dickson.

Its a great location for weekends trips away because you are about 2-31/2 hours from the Snowy region, the beach and Sydney! Everytime I am in Canberra it always seems so outdoorsy to me lots of bike riding and hiking plus other agricultural things like the Canberra Royal show and garden shows, hot air balloon shows etc etc etc.

I think outgoing people will make friends wherever they go. Australian's, like New Zealanders as a whole can be a little more insular in accepting friends in comparison to people like the Scottish or American's for example, but if you have made friends in NZ then I am sure you will find friends in Australia you just have to wine them and dine them:rofl:

Canberra isn't in 'pretty' looking countryside like a lot of NZ and certainly not the UK. It does (IMO) get unberably hot because you don't get the sea breezes but it seems to suit the type of lifestyle you are after.

Can't really help with the boring stuff like jobs and houses because I have never lived in Canberra:thumbup:.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Definitely - definitely - ship it, furniture in Canberra is generally outrageously expensive and of poor quality and choice, especially in the large retailers. Much of it made in Asia and then marked up in the 1000s of %. There is not much of a range and unless you want to go custom made you will not get value for money with new stuff here.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Your friend is quite right, it is quite a sterile place and friendships are hard to forge - ones that last that is. I know it isnt just me that feels this way, a lot of the people I work with have cited the insularity as a real issue for them and I can understand why. If you like your own company you will be fine. If you expect to find lifelong bosom buddies you are likely to be disappointed.

I have felt a couple of earthquakes since we have been here but both very small and one was exacerbated by the fact that I was in the bathroom at the time and the tremors were magnified by the plumbing - my DH, outside in the garden, heard nothing at all even though to me it was a very loud noise.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Yes definately bored here but hoping that future income will make it a bit of a brighter and more rewarding place in which to live. Both of my sons have already made it very clear that they'll leave town as soon as they're able to. The mrs and I will probably do the same - maybe move to the coast somewhere. :unsure:

Socially this place is the pits. As an example my sons are a fun, sporty, entertaining, chatty and outgoing couple of kids - in London they had tons of friends and used to go out a lot but here it seems that other kids just can't be arsed to socialise. I used to think that maybe it was because there were very few youngsters in Canberra but the number of teenage attendees at the big Commonwealth Park fireworks display several months ago definately put that theory to rest. The only kids socialising that I've noticed here is between those kids who hang around at shopping centres. The rest are probably all glued to their computer screens playing CoD. :rolleyes:

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

I did tell you! What makes you think things will be different on the coast?!

As you know one of mine just loves the buzz of UK and when he has come back to Aus has become progressively more and more bored on his holidays. Small pond really.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Just playing with ideas really. We could probably get ourselves a nicer house for our money down there. And it'll be freehold. :thumbup: I wouldn't mind buying a holiday apartment/bungalow near somewhere like Bateman's while we wait for the kids to get through uni. After that, who knows? :)

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Well there will be lots of older retirees down at the Bay so the bowls club will be on your list of things to do no doubt!

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

:ohmy: I'd rather play golf! :p

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

As has been said already, Canberra has its pros and cons.

I agree that Canberrans aren't very outgoing and it's hard to socialise. You have to make a real effort and, from what I can tell, a lot of people don't make much effort. It's an incredibly comfortable place in many ways. Easy commutes, clean, green, wealthy, good climate. It seems to have so much going for it, yet I find it does lack "soul". On the one hand you feel privileged living here, but on the other you feel like you're missing out.

I travel extensively for work and also pleasure, so I don't feel trapped and do appreciate the many benefits of living in one of the world's most affluent places when I come back from one of my trips. Yet, like many, I don't necessarily see myself living here indefinitely.

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

Hi
So why are canberrans like this then ? is it maybe because they have lived there all their life and dont need any more friends or do they not take kindly to us expats moving there. :huh:

Re: Thoughts of Canberra?
 

They couldnt give a toss about expats. Because it is one of those places where people come and go with work, there isnt that cohesive community feel about it as there arent that many multigenerational families - I suspect the same is going to be true in most cities that are essentially suburbia. If you want community then you have to go out in the boondocks - the smaller towns - and the catch 22 there is that the employment opportunities arent as great and the entertainment/leisure opportunities arent really sophisticated as in the big cities and you run the risk of being tagged as a blow in.

I seriously doubt that Canberra is much different from any other big city really, they are friendly enough but you havent been through the significant developmental stages with them and so they will probably end up being more acquaintance (usually work or interest related) than died in the wool bosom buddies.

Essentially you have to be self sufficient and independent here.