This is what the good old BBC reckons http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21715754

Not been there yet myself but work colleagues who have tend to agree with the assertion in the title

Anyone prepared to defend Canberra, assuming they're awake that is

Wait 'til Paulry sees this.

damn, busted already

Only just saw this post as I was too busy enjoying Canberra's great lifestyle.

Canberra boring? Well, I suppose the easy answer is that boring people would find Canberra boring. As a place to live, I don't find it boring.

- The highest concentration of educated people in the country, the top ranking university and a swag of community groups;
- An active theatre and music scene (both classical and contemporary);
- Some interesting festivals an easy bike ride away, including the Multi-cultural festival and National Folk Festival (Summernats for rev-heads);
- Farmers markets;
- Top cool climate wineries, some with good restaurants, in the surrounding (beautiful) countryside;
- One of the best cities for outdoor enthusiasts with great beaches and skiing about two hours away and great bushwalking metres from my house;
- Pleasant, sunny climate with four distinct seasons;
- Great sporting facilities;
- World class museums and galleries (NGA, War Memorial, National Portrait Gallery etc);
- Sydney an easy 2.5 hour drive for your big city fix.

Tomorrow is a busy day in the national capital with a host of entertainment to celebrate the capital's centenary:

http://www.oneverybigday.com.au

I've known someone who lived there, he said it was boring.

When I've been there, its been obvious that it closes almost immediately after work.

An unbalanced community that doesn't really work as a result. You are there because you have to be, not because you want to be.

but the Canberra IQ and EQ have been dramatically decreased by the occupants of this house:

Unfortunately "Canberra" equates to "politicians" in the popular imagination which doesn't help the city's image.

How long ago did you visit? It's changed a lot of recent years and there's plenty of nightlife, shops are open late and it has one of the youngest populations in the country.

I'm not sure saying that you know someone who once lived there X number of years ago is a very good indicator. I live there now and have lived in several other cities around the world so I have something to compare it against.

Could it be the Milton Keynes of Australia..... People that live there, like and really enjoy it... Whereas people that dont knock it unfairly without really knowing what happens there.

True, it was a while back. However I've seen no signs that its materially changed. For instance:

Gigs in Canberra - 44 (eg Gerry and the Pacemakers)
Gigs in Melbourne - 317 (eg Guns'n'Roses)

Hell, Hobart has 67 gigs listed ....

Well, it has one tenth the population of Melbourne so, per capita, it's not too bad. Also, it's easy to get to Sydney so people will often see gigs there.

I'm not saying Canberra is for everyone but, in many respects, it offers a high quality of life with plenty of job opportunities.

It certainly doesn't have the things that I value in my life but, that said, there is no shortage of things to do there. There are plenty of excellent restaurants, the cafe culture has transcended the draconian "thou halt not have tables on the pavement" laws (took a while!), there are excellent facilities for sporting and other large events (Floriade is still a huge tourist attraction as is Summer Nats, Folk Festival etc). I used to whinge that movies were always late getting to Canberra but even that has improved in the last few years. Still can't compare to London of course!

I really thing that a lot of the antipathy comes from the guilt by association with Federal parliament which is always referred to in the media as "Canberra said this" or "Canberra declared that" usually associated with something contentious or negative

It's like Milton Keynes with telly tubby land in the middle.

Every time I go there for work it reminds me of MK.

I am regularly so shocked at how deserted it becomes after 5pm on a week night. It really is a country town in all honesty, not a city. It reminds me of Toowoomba but without the history

It really is just a collection of small rural towns in the bush. Canberra is just really a term to try and combine all these different towns, there is no city center as such of course.

They could still make something of Canberra if they were willing to abandon the founding plans.

Build a modern high speed rail link from Sydney to Canberra and a proper capital city train station in the 'center'. Sydney's second airport is also supposed to be built near Canberra anyway.