Hiya all,

It's been a while. Dare i say a year or more. Bert and I have been in Hervey Bay for coming up 2 years. We moved here from Mackay in October 06, and since then have bought a house (07) and sold a house (08 - got out in the nick of time before interest madness and made 10%) and currently renting in Hervey Bay. We are looking to move to Canberra - Bert was made redundant (construction died off in Hervey Bay after the nth interest rise and his job finished) and living on one salary currently. So we're off to Canberra on Wednesday for a 5 day reccie (any advise welcome re housing!). We're confident on jobs, but hoping to be able to buy a house rather than rent again (we've had Christmas in a different house the last 6 years).

Hervey Bay is beautiful, don't get me wrong. But jobs are a shortage still with the slowdown of the economy. Hervey bay is a few year yet off being sustaineable. Bert now has his Permanent residency (took 6 months from submission to approval) and 18 months to go till citizenship.

How's everyone else doing?

Stella

Bring your thermal knickers Stella, it's a tad chilly at the moment! Although by Wednesday it may have warmed up a bit again (we have rain at the mo - wooo hoooooo!!)

Best place for Canberra housing is www.allhomes.com.au it has pretty much everything that is going except for private sales and rentals and you will find those in Saturday's Canberra Times. The market is a bit up and down and it all depends on which day you read the CT Real Estate news!

It is nothing like Hervey Bay or Mackay though

I would recommend Canberra to anyone.

In the last decade it has come along so far it's not recognisable anymore. I was away for a few years and came back to find the city had doubled in size, and now there is a massive new City Centre development with great cafes and restaurants.

What a pity you'll be a bit too early for all the spring festivities - Floriade starts soon, but not soon enough!!

I'd take Canberra over Hervey Bay any day.