Goulburn

Any one in Goulburn? Just wanted general opinions/good areas/schools etc

I might have more luck posting this in the ACT forum as it's nearer Canberra than Sydney.

One of my staff drives in from Goulburn every day. He says it takes him 55 mins door to door. He seems to really like living there and has just finished building a new house which is much bigger than he could have afforded to build in Canberra. However I think he finds it a bit of a pain to attend functions for work especially if the function starts a couple of hours after work finishes or if he needs to drive in on the weekend for one. It's also a long drive late at night dodging damn Kangaroos (you might think they are cute now but you won't if you run into a couple and have to pay to get your car fixed).

Couple of other things to consider - Do you know there is a maximum security prison in Goulburn? Some people don't care but others do. They also have water issues during times of drought. The public pool was closed for a couple of years during the last drought as the town ran out of water. Water was obviously shipped in but it was too expensive (and wasteful) to use on the pool. People were not allowed to use water to top up their private pools either. Shopping is limited - you can get the basics in Goulburn but if you want to spend the day shopping just for the pleasure of it you will need to drive into Canberra.

Really depends on the lifestyle you are looking for. Goulburn is very much a country town so you will need to be able to make your own fun and be happy with limited facilities. If you can do that you just might love it - plenty of other people do.

I assume you will be renting to start with so you could always try it out and see if you like it. Also, not sure where you think Queanbeyan is but it is nowhere near Goulburn - it sits on the boundary of Canberra.

One of my staff drives in from Goulburn every day. He says it takes him 55 mins door to door. He seems to really like living there and has just finished building a new house which is much bigger than he could have afforded to build in Canberra. However I think he finds it a bit of a pain to attend functions for work especially if the function starts a couple of hours after work finishes or if he needs to drive in on the weekend for one. It's also a long drive late at night dodging damn Kangaroos (you might think they are cute now but you won't if you run into a couple and have to pay to get your car fixed).

 

Couple of other things to consider - Do you know there is a maximum security prison in Goulburn? Some people don't care but others do. They also have water issues during times of drought. The public pool was closed for a couple of years during the last drought as the town ran out of water. Water was obviously shipped in but it was too expensive (and wasteful) to use on the pool. People were not allowed to use water to top up their private pools either. Shopping is limited - you can get the basics in Goulburn but if you want to spend the day shopping just for the pleasure of it you will need to drive into Canberra.

 

Really depends on the lifestyle you are looking for. Goulburn is very much a country town so you will need to be able to make your own fun and be happy with limited facilities. If you can do that you just might love it - plenty of other people do.

 

I assume you will be renting to start with so you could always try it out and see if you like it. Also, not sure where you think Queanbeyan is but it is nowhere near Goulburn - it sits on the boundary of Canberra.

Thank you very much Yep I know where Queanbeyan is, I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of living there.

Apparently there is a new dam and a new Target so hopefully water & shopping are sorted.

I knew about the prison, which does actually make me a bit nervous but as long as we're not on the doorstep I reckon that's ok. I think we might just have to go for it.

Plenty of people like living there. Some of them love it. You might be one of them. Good luck with your move etc

If you like to plug into a good audio book and have a gentle-ish start to your day with a long drive set on cruise control then you may well quite like it. I know a few folk who live in Goulburn. One commutes daily and was at the start of his residence and so was still OK with it. Another had been doing it for years but was fed up with the daily trek so has a room in Canberra and works 4 days a week then goes home for the long weekends.

On the plus side, rentals are going to be cheaper but I should think you would more than make up the difference in petrol and car wear and tear. In the winter that road along Lake George can be a p*i*t*a too.

The prison shouldnt be an issue, other than that a lot of Goulburn residents work at the jail. The remainder work at the abattoir (joke, right but the abattoir is one of the other local big employers). It's pretty typical NSW country town really and if your preference runs to country towns then it is worth thinking about.

There's also Yass which is a tiny bit closer and more people commute from there to Canberra - I have a friend who does that too and she moans about the cost of fuel and the number of near misses with roos she has had when she has been travelling at dusk or dawn but rentals are still a bit lower than ACT

If you like to plug into a good audio book and have a gentle-ish start to your day with a long drive set on cruise control then you may well quite like it. I know a few folk who live in Goulburn. One commutes daily and was at the start of his residence and so was still OK with it. Another had been doing it for years but was fed up with the daily trek so has a room in Canberra and works 4 days a week then goes home for the long weekends.

 

On the plus side, rentals are going to be cheaper but I should think you would more than make up the difference in petrol and car wear and tear. In the winter that road along Lake George can be a p*i*t*a too.

 

The prison shouldnt be an issue, other than that a lot of Goulburn residents work at the jail. The remainder work at the abattoir (joke, right but the abattoir is one of the other local big employers). It's pretty typical NSW country town really and if your preference runs to country towns then it is worth thinking about.

 

There's also Yass which is a tiny bit closer and more people commute from there to Canberra - I have a friend who does that too and she moans about the cost of fuel and the number of near misses with roos she has had when she has been travelling at dusk or dawn but rentals are still a bit lower than ACT

Cheeky question but do you know what area of Goulburn any of your friends would recommend living in? Currently I don't drive although I am working on it! Also have a primary aged child

No, sorry, and they arent friends enough that I can ask them now that I no longer live in Canberra. I have a feeling one was fairly close to the cathedral (turn left at the right angle bend at the Cathedral rather than going on down the main street - fairly close to the pool) and the other one was out on property to the north west a few miles.

If you dont drive and you are working in Canberra then dont do it - it isnt the sort of drive you would want to be doing every day as a starting driver, you would be knackered with all the concentration.

Your child wouldnt have any rights of enrolment in a Canberra school and so you would be faced with being at least an hour away from the school should anything go wrong and you be needed in a hurry.

Probably avoid the prison which is on the eastern exit side of the town.

I can think of much nicer places to live than Goulburn..Sorry!!. Why have you picked this region?

I can think of much nicer places to live than Goulburn..Sorry!!. Why have you picked this region?

Husband works in canberra but can't afford to live there