My family and I are moving to Canberra in May and just wonderd if anyone has any suggestions on where to live?
My husband will be working in the CBD and we will will need to be near a good school for my 4 year old twin boys. Out laws and family keep saying we need to live in Yarralumla or Deakin. But that is at top end of budget and can only get something smaller than we have in uk.

Hi,

Nice areas all over Canberra - Evatt, Melba, Fraser all North
and South there are some nice areas too. New areas being built around Gunghalin - but block sizes are pretty small.

Thanks for that. Have looked at many areas, but not those. Trying to narrow it all down for when i get there as will have to look for schools as well. maybe need to rent a bit longer to get to know the area. was just hoping to get the kids sorted. Thanks for the info. Any other tips?

Yeah loads - pm me for any direct info - but most schools are ok - we have one of the best primary schools close by - Fraser primary. Government has recently had a lot of closures on government funded schools so it has had a bit of a negative effect. But IMO as a qualified teacher - the schools they closed were only pulling in minority numbers - some class sizes were 7! I taught a class of 3 once

They don't seem to have the same problems with class size as back in the UK, even in High School. Class sizes vary from 11 - 22.

Hi, We moved to Canberra 18 mths ago and also have 4 year old twin boys!
We live in the south in Tuggeranong and love it. Feel free to ask away and we'll try to help you.

Hi,

Didn't know we had more BE members in Canberra - nice to hear

Sarah

Yarralumla and Deakin are inner-south, so it's would only be a short, very nice drive across the bridge to the "CBD" (har har - you'll see why) every morning for your husband. If you could manage to rent for a while in these areas you'd love it - but be warned - you'd never want to live anywhere else.(If you had a house on a nice street near the lake you'd see why.) You could use living there as an opportunity to explore the suburbs nearby and get a feel for them, if price-wise they are more realistic.

I was lucky and managed to rent a decent-sized 3-bed cottage in Yarralumla for $300 pw (they were asking $350) back in late 2004, but you'd be lucky to get anything like that now - rental property vacancies in Canberra are now about 1%.

Deakin is next to Yarralumla and is also nice and expensive. Not far from Deakin you have Hughes, which is still nice but not so expensive. You might want to check it out.

Also, with primary schools in mind, there's Garran. As an area I'd say it's on a par with Hughes. Garran Primary has a good reputation, I hear, but has serious competition for places - hence the need to live in the catchment area i.e. actually in the suburb. Garran has also got The Canberra Hospital across the road from the school.

FYI - Some of the other "upper-end" suburbs, should you see them mentioned, are Red Hill, Forrest, Manuka, O'Connor and O'Malley. Be aware you'd be on a par with upper-end Sydney prices in these areas.

Good luck.

Big.

Quick Q. Does anyone living in Canberra get upset about it being the butt of jokes from other states?

I've never been - but all the Ozzies at work don't have a good word to say about it - but then, I don't think most of them have been either.

Dave x

Canberra is like a book, at first glances it looks like it's a city for politicians. However, once you explore it you find out what it's really like.



ZX.......

Where in Tuggeranong are you? We are in Richardson.


ZX......

Have you thought about Jerrabomberra? Or a rural property?


ZX.....

Excuse me young man...but weren't you having a break ?

Yes I had a full day without BE....... But, now I'm back I got some fan mail too..... I'm this BE member that everyone wants to hug.....


ZX....

K given for being soft

Do you want it hard Cas?


ZX.....