Dee1

My daughter is also now living in Australia and has a student loan from UK. Part of the condition when taking the loan is that you keep the loans company informed of your current address. She did this and was duly sent a financial questionnaire to complete. She was then told that she did not have to repay anything this year - a huge relief after all the moving costs. My daughter knows that she will have to repay the loan at some point, after all without it, she wouldn't have her degree and without her degree she wouldn't have the job she loves and probably wouldn't be enjoying life here in Australia! I'd encourage your girlfriend to do the right thing. If for no other reason than to avoid a life constantly looking over her shoulder!

I found Canberra great for couples and families. Singles new to Canberra perhaps might find it a bit tougher. Having distinct seasons was also really nice - being able to wrap up and have a fire on in winter, colours of autumn etc. Summer can get pretty hot but it IS Australia after all. Floriade in Springtime is just beautiful. Within a couple of hours drive you can be at safe, sandy beaches for kids, in the country or in Sydney within 3 hours. Great walking/cycle tracks and a relatively low crime rate. I spent most of my time living close to Civic but have also lived in Tuggeranong and Belconnen. There seems to be a crazy amount of new suburbs being built just now. It's sometimes easier to make friends and get to know folk when you are all new to a neighbourhood. Although I found Canberra to have a very transient population, I don't regret any of the years I spent there.

What a great thread. Loving all the photos! We have been in Brisbane for 18 months and have rented in Toowong, Paddington and Graceville - all lovely suburbs but Paddington is definitely my favourite. It was the most friendly, and as we were on Latrobe tce, the shops, cafes etc made lovely social connections very easy. Toowong has good transport links with regular buses, trains and city cat. The walking/cycle track has had an upgrade and runs alongside the river to the CBD. Toowong shopping village is good and never very busy. It is very close to Indooroopilly shopping centre too which has some lovely shops. Graceville is quieter. Apparently the local state primary school is good. We paid $830. pw for a standard Queenslander. You have to be careful though as parts of Graceville are prone to flooding. Regular trains make it an easy commute to the CBD. Good luck with your search!