Ben1979

Hi all, Me & my wife + 3 year old child have recently moved to Melbourne & are renting a house in Rosanna which is a very pleasant suburb & good access to the city & my work (Campbellfield). We will hopefully be in a position to buy somewhere early next year, but house prices in this area...wow! which I know is a typical problem in most Melbourne suburbs inside the ring road anyway. I was chatting to someone at work who lives further north & she said I should have a look at Hidden Valley which is part of Wallan. I looked on realestate.com & was blown away by what you get for the money & looks liked a beautiful spot albeit a bit out from Melbourne. After further research I found Wallan has a train station which can get you to Southern Cross in 45 mins which isn't to bad considering its 30 mins from Rosanna. Its about 30 mins to my work drive so same as I do now. We are going to drive up to have look but just wondered if anyone has any experience or stories to share about this area? Thanks

Thanks for that. We have a few house viewings in the next few days so hopefully find something around this area soon! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hi all, we are staying in serviced apartments in Ivanhoe which seems a really nice area. We are currently looking at some properties around this area. Just wondering if anyone has experience of living in this area & what the journey to & from Campbellfield would be like? had a look in Mernda, South Morang etc but maybe a bit far out from the city. Have not checked out point cook yet or some inner west suburbs yet. What is Coburg & Pascoe Vale like as the rents seem reasonable for those areas? Thanks

Thanks all, my head is done in with 'burbs' research. The company I'm working for are putting me up for a bit so I can have a look around once I arrive. Nice to get some ideas from you all though, thanks!

Hi everyone, me my wife & our nearly 3 year old girl are moving from Sydney to Melbourne mid march due to my work requirements. I will be working in Campbellfield & was wondering if anyone could advise on best suburbs to live. We currently live in Camden area in Sydney which we like due to its semi rural kind of setting but still has good facilities & a still within decent commute to the cbd or beaches etc (depending on traffic of course). I have been doing a bit of research & so far I understand the eastern suburbs are more expensive & are considered the better suburbs to live by some of the things ive read, however I have no experience so really don't know? We will be renting at first & have a budget of $550 a week, $600 max. Most of the houses in the east seem to be very old compared to where we live now. We have looked at Point Cook which looks more like the kind of housing we have now ie new build but it seems very cheap so wondering if there is a reason why? Im not bothered about being really close to the city but still would like to be near some good amenities for my wife as she won't be working. I mentioned Point Cook to a couple of people at work & they didn't seemed to think it was a good area? although our research on it seemed to tick our boxes & it's close to the water & not too far to my work (google maps reckons 45mins max) Anyway I would like some advice from current poms living in Melbourne please ?

Hi Lisa, Yes, it would be nice to meet up so happy to organise something if you want? We are in Gregory Hills (Narellan) so maybe could meet for a coffee? We are busy next wknd but maybe after that? ? Ben

Hi all, Me & my wife have spent over 4 years in Canberra & I have recently started a new job in Prestons, Sydney so we are relocating to in early Jan. We have just secured a new house in Gregory Hills (rental). This seems a half decent area & close to my work which was important as I didn't want to contend with 1hr + travelling to work every day! We would have liked to be beachside & live the Ozzy dream, but after looking around you don't seem to get much for your money in the beach suburbs + it's now less than an hour to the beach rather than 2 as it was from Canberra so all good. Anyway just wondering if anyone lives or has any experience of living in the Camden / Narellan area & would like to meet up. We are originally from Newcastle & have a 2 year old little Ozzy girl Thanks Ben

Me, my wife & our 2 year old daughter currently live in Canberra & I have just secured a new job based in Prestons (Liverpool area) in Sydney. I start the job in 4 weeks & we are obviously going to move. We have lived here for over 4 years in Canberra & have our permanent residency. I know a little bit about Sydney but not enough to make a big decision where to live. I am aware of the traffic issues so would prefer to live somewhere which isnt going to take hours to get to work, but at the same time I want to live somewhere fairly decent i.e no major crime areas? Advice greatly appreciated!

Me & my wife have been here coming up 4 years now & have an almost 2 year old girl. Like has been said before, Canberra to you depends what you want from living, buzzing culture, nights out & sparkle it aint, but if you like the countryside, clean air, big skies & can live with a small city mentality rather than the big buzz of Sydney or Melbourne then you'll maybe enjoy it. Wouldn't want to be here if I was in my twenties at it can be a bit 'dull' but as a retired Geordie weekend party guy it suits me fine...I think I have accepted my transition into adult life & Canberra is the place to be for that! That's not to say it doesn't have a nightlife, but not the pub / nightclub lifestyle I have grown up with...all good though! & a very good place for kids to grow up. I have written about Canberra in the past on this forum to see how I felt at different stages of living here. http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/act/155711-been-canberra-9-months-low-down.html#post1935886187

I was wondering if there are any fellow poms on here who live in Jerra or Qbn? Me & my wife have been in Canberra for 4 years now & moved to Jerra from Casey about 12 mths ago (work purposes) We have a nearly two year old girl & was wondering if there was anyone local for a meet up & maybe a beer at the Jerra tavern ?

Hi , Good luck with your move! My wife has just given birth to our child here & we have already started looking into childcare as the waiting list is massive (my wife plans to go back to work in 12 months). I cant help you on the school system / costs as we are still a few years away from looking at that! However, with regards to housing, we live north side (Casey) & Majura Park is abut 15-20 mins away from us (depending on traffic, which compared to the UK is not much). Its all new housing north side & the prices arent too bad depending on where your looking. Bonner & Forde are the newest suburbs & they're both pretty nice as is Casey where we live & Nicholls (just next to us). We like it up here in the north side, as the houses are all very new, very child friendly i.e parks, playgrounds etc & not much crime..thats not to say south side is but i'm just speaking from our experience of living north side for almost 2 years. Also if you work in Majura Park, you can leave Gungahlin (north side) on Horse Park Drive which turns into Majura Rd & hey presto your there! To be honest though Canberra is a relatively small place & doesn't suffer from major traffic issues so wherever you live you wont have too much trouble getting around. I work in Queanbeyan & it still only takes me 30 mins to get to work from Casey! Which some of my colleagues at work deem a long drive?? Anyway good luck & if you need any more help, let me know. Oh & its a good time to look at rentals as the supply is higher than the demand at the moment so rental prices north side are pretty static / lower than they were when we arrived 2 years ago Ben

Hi Callie, Jerrabomberra is probably the nicest & closest suburb for you to look at. I think the price reflects the area though so its not the cheapest, but I would certainly recommend it. I know a few people through work who live there & they all seem to like it. This is the best site to find properties in the ACT http://www.allhomes.com.au/ah/nsw/rent-residential/jerrabomberra/121450710 Good luck, Ben.

Me & my wife moved to Canberra from the UK (Newcastle) 15 months ago & had to go through exactly what your facing so hopefully I can give you some good advice. We did not have any children to bring over but we were going to bring our dog but like you changed our mind & left it with my family; a decision I'm pleased we made as it would have made things more difficult ie house rentals. Luckily my employer in Canberra put us up in a hotel for 4 weeks whilst we hunted a house to rent. It took us about 3 weeks to find a house we liked & move in. We opted for north side, Casey to be exact as it's all new housing & a fairly quiet area but still have all the amenities of Gungahlin which is only a 5 min drive or 20 min bike ride! (cycling is big in Canberra) The only downside of the mostly new housing in Northside is that you don't get much of a garden. We have a lovely 3 bedroom house & garage but no real garden at the rear just a back yard. If a garden space is important the older houses in south side of Canberra seem to offer more. With regards to living here in Canberra, I can honestly say we love it! My wife & I are both in our mid thirties & my wife is expecting our child & Canberra is a great place to live for families. It's very clean with loads of parks & outdoor space. It's very well laid out & you don't experience any major Traffic or congestion which I experienced almost every day back in the UK. It doesn't have any major crime problems that I'm aware of, although there are better areas than others like all suburban cities. If you like biking it has cycle paths everwhere! I cant give you any advice on south side as we are north side but the new suburbs up where we are all seem very good; Casey, Nicholls & Forde are all nice clean places to live with plenty of 3/4 bedroom properties which you are looking for. Gungahlin itself has some nice housing although stay away from the centre as its very busy & the housing is mainly apartments / units. But I'm sure some people on here who live Southside can advise on where to live that side of town. We have made friends with a couple on here through this site who live south side & love it, but it's definitely a good idea to stay in a hotel or something & have a look around before committing. The downsides: Canberra can seem like a little bit of a closed society, but maybe this is because of a high amount of government bods here. This is something we have got used to & you just have to try a bit harder to find people with a bit colour! Canberra drivers are terrible, but again you get used to it! Canberra is expensive, again probably because a high percentage are government peeps & are drawing big bucks! These are not major negatives though, and the positives far outweigh the negatives. The coast is only a 1.5 hour drive away, the big lights of Sydney are a very easy 3 hour drive & with Canberra having an airport you can fly to any of the cities on this huge bit of rock! Anyway, I hope I've helped & I wish you all the best on the big move & if you need any help or advice, just give us a shout Ben

Ha ha, right with ya! I wasn't sure if pulling in once you've over taken someone was a road law here as 90% of people do not...going 60 in an 80 in the right hand lane seems to be quite popular in Canberra!!!

I found this forum really useful when me & my wife were coming over on a 457 visa last October so I thought I would share our experiences of Canberra so far for anyone who is coming over & wondering what it's like. Good things: Big open / clean place with fantastic views all around & very well spread out - more of a big country town than a city Very safe place to live, we haven't experienced any crime (touch wood) & you never really see or hear of any bother. No groups of kids hanging around the streets like back home. Good weather. Maybe not the hottest place in Oz to live but summer gone was warm with a great deal of sunshine even though the locals said it was very poor by normal standards. Much better than back home where it rains most of the summer. The last few months have been beautiful for autumn & winter with blue skies nearly every day (even though it is very cold once the sun goes down). Nice housing / area's - we live north side & most of the housing is brand new. We're renting at the moment in Casey & the house we rent is a new build. Nice big rooms & plenty space in nice neighbourhood with great views. Similar suburbs around us look pretty nice - Ford / Amaroo / Harrison Location - 3 hours to Sydney, 2 hours to the beach & 2/3 hours to the snow (all driving) Great place to bring up or start a family. We are in our early 30's & are thinking of starting a family & Canberra seems like a great place to bring up kids. Loads of parks / lakes & open spaces. Not so good things: Worst drivers ever - not sure if its an Ozzy thing in general or just Canberra, but the drivers here fall into 2 groups, boy racer's revving there done up ute's or sunday afternoon dwindlers who keep 10km under the already lame speed limit. Also, the drivers here have no peripheral vision or courtesy. If your waiting to pull out onto a very slow moving line of traffic, your very lucky if someone lets you out! I noticed when I got here that if you flash someone to let them out, they look at you like "what you flashing me for" & don't move.....seriously the worst driving standards ive ever seen! Rant over :0) Bit of a closed society - Again, not sure if its just Canberra being a government place but people don't seem to interact much. We've been here 9 months & found it hard to meet people in a social context. We're from Newcastle in the uk which is a pretty friendly place & easy to make friends, but that isn't the case in Canberra. The people are friendly at face value, but not much 'crack' beyond that? Lack of insulation in the houses. Like I said, the houses are nice, but they don't have double glazing in many of the properties & once you turn the heating off it goes freezing cold within minutes. I cant understand why they dont push double glazing etc much as Canberra is very cold in the winter, not as cold as Newcastle but at least back home the housing is geared up for it. In all, Canberra is a lovely place to live. Maybe not where we would want to live in our 20's but if your looking for somewhere easy to live in a family environment with a great outdoors then Canberra is perfect. Just be prepared for the road rage :arghh: