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Quoll · 03-05-2008, 03:13 AM

Really, schools are going to be the least of your problems! Schools are much of a muchness but I will pm you with ones to avoid!!!! You have to live in your home 24/7 so better get that right or you will be unhappy. Amaroo is one of the newest suburbs - if you have a look on Google earth you will see big houses on small blocks without too much vegetation. It is about 18 km from Civic and even though we now have a super new "Gungahlin Drive Extension" which takes some of the pressure off, it takes about 20 - 30 minutes to drive into town. There is a good public transport network with buses going every half hour (to high density places) or less frequently to other places. They have tried to economize so if you are going from A to B you could go via woop woop and timbuctu in the process so you probably wouldnt want to be in a hurry on the bus unless you are going between interchanges. Canberra is a good cycling city - not great hills (although there is a bit of a rise on the way out to Gungahlin!) but you would have to be a bit dedicated to bike in from Amaroo (my DH used to cycle 20km each way every day in the opposite direction but he is a bit of a nut!). We have a super bike path network including an on street network. Taking the bus is a bit cheaper than parking your car in Civic - you can park your car for $10 per day on the rooftop of the shopping centre (cheaper in other places if you can find a space!). If you get a bus ticket you can get a 10 ride ticket for $22 (monthly tickets are proportionately cheaper of course but never buy one)

We have a thriving Catholic system alongside the government school system - by the time kids hit High School, parents are voting with their feet and almost 50% send their kids to private schools. The primaries are OK. You may have preferences for the type of school you want - we have one lot of schools of older design where you have classrooms with walls and doors but we also have a number (all of them in Tuggeranong for example) which are built in open space design - pods of 4 teaching areas which are with movable walls if there are walls at all. So you can have up to 120 kids in quite a small space with their 4 teachers. The ambient noise level can be quite high and if you have children who need few distractions they can be challenging. I think Amaroo has a cross between the two but it is a long time since I have been out there. Amaroo is a k -10 school and is getting to be one of the bigger schools so if your kids are used to small schools that could be a bit of culture shock. Gold Ck school, also in that area is a k -10 but the 6 - 10 is on a different campus across the oval. Gold Ck also shares a primary site with a Catholic school and you have hundreds of kids seething around at play times. You know your kids best though and know what will appeal to them/shock them.

Do you know where you will be working? That could have a bearing on where you look for houses. If you are going to be working down in Tuggeranong you dont want to be living in Amaroo (not unless you are a masochist anyway!) and the converse is true if you are going to be working in Belconnen. I must admit to a very soft spot for the inner north - I walk the 2 miles into work most days (OK, so I do catch the bus home which is cheating a bit!) - but some of Ainslie is lovely and Hackett is one of the hidden gem type suburbs that no one ever talks about (the local PS, in Watson, is excellent). There are some nice places in Watson too. Not big and flashy but solid with nice gardens. Alternatively, places like Yarralumla (by the lake), Campbell and Reid are nice established areas and not too mediumdensity-ized. They are more $$$ though. Whatever you go for, just try and avoid battleaxe blocks - they tend to have a higher burglary rate (blocks that sit behind other homes and dont have a street frontage).

I know several of the folk who have come here recently have settled out in Gungahlin and seem to be quite happy out there.

So, when will you be coming? Just ask because we are heading into winter and since Anzac Day we have had a really cold snap so you will be wanting to bring your winter woolies. It warms up in about mid September and we will be back in shorts and t shirts about then!

03-05-2008, 03:13 AM	#9 (permalink)
Quoll PomsInOz Chatter Box Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Canberra Posts: 1,457	Really, schools are going to be the least of your problems! Schools are much of a muchness but I will pm you with ones to avoid!!!! You have to live in your home 24/7 so better get that right or you will be unhappy. Amaroo is one of the newest suburbs - if you have a look on Google earth you will see big houses on small blocks without too much vegetation. It is about 18 km from Civic and even though we now have a super new "Gungahlin Drive Extension" which takes some of the pressure off, it takes about 20 - 30 minutes to drive into town. There is a good public transport network with buses going every half hour (to high density places) or less frequently to other places. They have tried to economize so if you are going from A to B you could go via woop woop and timbuctu in the process so you probably wouldnt want to be in a hurry on the bus unless you are going between interchanges. Canberra is a good cycling city - not great hills (although there is a bit of a rise on the way out to Gungahlin!) but you would have to be a bit dedicated to bike in from Amaroo (my DH used to cycle 20km each way every day in the opposite direction but he is a bit of a nut!). We have a super bike path network including an on street network. Taking the bus is a bit cheaper than parking your car in Civic - you can park your car for $10 per day on the rooftop of the shopping centre (cheaper in other places if you can find a space!). If you get a bus ticket you can get a 10 ride ticket for $22 (monthly tickets are proportionately cheaper of course but never buy one) We have a thriving Catholic system alongside the government school system - by the time kids hit High School, parents are voting with their feet and almost 50% send their kids to private schools. The primaries are OK. You may have preferences for the type of school you want - we have one lot of schools of older design where you have classrooms with walls and doors but we also have a number (all of them in Tuggeranong for example) which are built in open space design - pods of 4 teaching areas which are with movable walls if there are walls at all. So you can have up to 120 kids in quite a small space with their 4 teachers. The ambient noise level can be quite high and if you have children who need few distractions they can be challenging. I think Amaroo has a cross between the two but it is a long time since I have been out there. Amaroo is a k -10 school and is getting to be one of the bigger schools so if your kids are used to small schools that could be a bit of culture shock. Gold Ck school, also in that area is a k -10 but the 6 - 10 is on a different campus across the oval. Gold Ck also shares a primary site with a Catholic school and you have hundreds of kids seething around at play times. You know your kids best though and know what will appeal to them/shock them. Do you know where you will be working? That could have a bearing on where you look for houses. If you are going to be working down in Tuggeranong you dont want to be living in Amaroo (not unless you are a masochist anyway!) and the converse is true if you are going to be working in Belconnen. I must admit to a very soft spot for the inner north - I walk the 2 miles into work most days (OK, so I do catch the bus home which is cheating a bit!) - but some of Ainslie is lovely and Hackett is one of the hidden gem type suburbs that no one ever talks about (the local PS, in Watson, is excellent). There are some nice places in Watson too. Not big and flashy but solid with nice gardens. Alternatively, places like Yarralumla (by the lake), Campbell and Reid are nice established areas and not too mediumdensity-ized. They are more $$$ though. Whatever you go for, just try and avoid battleaxe blocks - they tend to have a higher burglary rate (blocks that sit behind other homes and dont have a street frontage). I know several of the folk who have come here recently have settled out in Gungahlin and seem to be quite happy out there. So, when will you be coming? Just ask because we are heading into winter and since Anzac Day we have had a really cold snap so you will be wanting to bring your winter woolies. It warms up in about mid September and we will be back in shorts and t shirts about then!