Blooroo

Thanks everyone, really appreciate the help! x

Thanks for speedy and helpful response...we've been looking for related threads and couldn't find anything x

Hi there, We've been asked to produce certified copies of documents, how do we get these in the UK? Thanks for any help, Blooroo

Thank you Quoll, we'll try that :smile:

Hi Everyone, We're planning to move to Canberra in January 2014 ready for the new academic year in February, and would like our daughter to start College...we're thinking of Narrabundah, but realise we're not even in the country yet let alone the catchment area..... How do you go about applying to a College when you have no address in canberra yet? Can you get round this problem? Thanks for any advice, Blooroo

Kerrabee National Equestrian Centre is great for your daughter's age I think. You don't just get the lesson....you arrive early to find your pony, brush it, check the hooves, collect the saddle etc, put saddle and bridle on.....they'll teach you how to do all this so you can do it every time by yourself eventually....then you have your lesson....then you unsaddle the pony, give it a drink etc. It's the whole horse care experience, and not just the ride, all for the price of the lesson. We found it really good for our daughter. She was a Junior Staff volunteer and went all day on the weekends, but I think you have to be 13 for that.

Agree with all these....Questacon is fab for kids, like a huge science museum, but loads of things to touch, and throw and ride on. War Memorial is a really great place...huge museum with real world war planes and brings it all to life. Tidbinbilla National Park is perfect to go if you want to see kangaroos in the wild in large numbers...sometimes you can see babies in the pouches too. There's a koala enclosure too where they're trying to rehabilitate koalas back into the park from other regions in Oz There are emus roaming around, and loads of trails and boardwalks to follow. Another nice thing to do with the kids on a sunny day is go to one of the beach areas...they're like on the river banks, and there are bbq areas and kids can paddle. There's Pine Island in Tuggeranong, and I forget the name of the others, maybe someone can help me out with that? In Woden Mall, there's a very small play area, for probably under 5's but nice for them to play and then have a coffee and cake? In DFO in Fishwick, which is like a shopping center but it's outlets, there's an indoor play area, where you can sign your kids in while you shop if you want to. I'm just thinking off the top of my head here, what else? There are so many gorgeous beaches if you want to take a day trip...Bateman's bay itself is ok, it's very touristy, but you'll probably find crazy golf and things like that. If you go further round either North or South, the beaches are much nicer. Jervis Bay is one of my favourite places on earth, but it's quite a bit further, and probably too far to do in a day (although we have done it) Sydney...great aquarium, and Zoo, ferry trip across Darling Harbour to view the opera house and bridge...very busy traffic in Sydney compared to Canberra, and parking very expensive and difficult...might be easier on the train, but maybe not with lots of kids? I think that's all for now, Hope some of that helps, Blooroo

Hi there, We've been here nearly 3 years and we love Canberra...SO good for bringing up a family, clean, child friendly, safe....just great. We have 2 teenage daughters who have been attending Trinity Christian School in Tuggeranong (Tuggers) and this is an excellent school, but it is private. We did look at state schools but we wern't impressed, in our experience when you get to High school level, you would probably need to go private to match UK state schools, there are some good state junior schools though. Our 13 yr old boy is at St Edmunds College, and loves it there...he's very into his sport and 'Eddies' is perfect for that. Again it's a private school, but the fees are not too bad....certainly nothing like UK private school fees. If I were you, I'd be thinking in terms of which secondary schools you want your kids to go to, and then look at the junior schools that link to them for where you want to live. We travel all over Canberra to get our kids to school and back each day, and we're used to that...we live in Duffy, Weston Creek, we traverse across the North South divide, and don't find the travel too big a problem, there are always school buses if we wanted them. It all depends how local you want to be to your kids schools...it's nice for them to have local friends if they can...we just have mum and dad's taxi service! Traffic is easy in Canberra thank goodness! Just a thought, Duffy is a great place to live 'cos we're right on the edge of Canberra, we just cross the road and we're into the bush with the border collie.....perfect if you have 2 dogs. I also highly recommend Yarralumla Dog Park...fantastic enclosed area for your dog to play with other dogs while you get to know lots of lovely friendly people! Really hope you'll love Canberra as much as we do...it's a bit bleak in Winter, but gorgeous at every other time! Let me know if you have any questions, Kate

I wonder if your quote was for both the vaccine, and the blood test that checks if the vaccine has worked? our vet said that the blood test was optional...

Hi, our border collie had her rabies shot a couple of days ago here in canberra and it cost only $150 Quote from Dogtainers to transport her back to the uk was $3500 all paperwork and vet checks included as well as the special crate.

This may not be relevant to you, I don't know if it's definitely Perth you're thinking of, but we are from Gloucestershire living in canberra...been here nearly 3 years and absolutely LOVE it. I know a lot of people put Canberra down, but it's actually a bit of a hidden gem. It's great for bringing up kids...we have 3 between 13 and 18, they love it too. Crime is low, well there are always areas to avoid i suppose, but we've seen no trouble at all. The roads are much safer than the UK, traffic is not a problem. Just a healthy outdoor lifestyle, loads of cycling and jogging with the dog. The climate in canberra is nice, 4 distinct seasons, but sunny usually, even when it's cold in winter. Summer gets hot, but usually not too hot! canberra is called the Bush Capital, and has loads of bushland and parks everywhere...it's common to see kangaroos hopping across the roads at night. The only thing canberra hasn't got is a beach, but it's only 2 hours drive away, and 3 hours drive to Sydney! State schools are not usually as good as England in our experience, we had to go private, but school fees are not usually as expensive as the UK, much more reasonable fees. Anyway, we love it here, I think Perth might be too hot for me...come to Canberra!

Thanks, we'll check that out

Thanks that's good news

Hi everyone, We're very new to all this...my OH has been offered a job for 3 years with sponsorship. We think we would be on ENS 186 visa. Is the visa linked to the job?...so if the job ended, would we still have permanent residency, or would we be sent home? Thanks for all advice Blooroo