Angela820

This is a fantastic car, still under Honda's new car warranty, and just had it's 30k service. We've owned it from new, and it is in excellent condition, on the road since November 2011 only. Over 3 1/2 years of the full Honda warranty & roadside assistance remaining (through to November 2016). It has a full service history with fixed price schedule of service costs. Includes Honda Civic official accessories including: Alloy wheels, Bluetooth, Floor mats, and Tinted windows. We've bought a second car and hence no longer require this one. Location: Canberra Price: $17,000 Please PM/Email if you are interested. Serious offers only.

Hello We moved to Canberra 18 months ago from the south of England and we bought a great Honda Civic sedan, brand new from a Honda dealer. We live near the city so only need one car now so we are selling this car. Its a bargain as its still has over 3 years Honda manufacturers warranty and roadside assistance, full service history (set price services), along with other extras like tinted windows and alloy wheels. Its always been kept in our garage and has only been used by myself for the school run and general getting around. We have it on the a car sales website. The link is here if you would like more details. Pm me if you are interested :-) http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/honda-civic-2011-14610686?base=1216&vertical=Car&cr=6&eapi=2&__N=1246%201252%201247%201282%204294965322%204294965250%20897%201216&num=15&silo=Stock&sort=default Angela Watkins

If I lived in Belconnen I would live in Aranda probably and like Quoll prefer the inner north and south. Schools and where you work will drive your decision along with cost.

Ig you can afford it I would send your kids to governemnt Primary (a good one though) and private high school - but then I would say the same being back in the UK. there are a few good high school here in Canberra and I do think Peach is right in that 50% send their kids to the private sector because of the demographic here. There are good government schools and good private school - as there are poor ones. Best advice I can give is to visit them which is what I did. Janet gave you the link :-) Thanks janet!

Really pleased you got so much sorted out I hear good things about the bi lingual programme at Yarralumla.. I am pleased you sorted it all out and am glad to be of help Angela

I would really agree with Claire. We arrived in November and thought like lots of people, lets go north as everyone else has gone there but actually we lived centrally for a month and really had a good look at schools and areas and commuting distance etc. I think the school may drive your decision.. and despite yours kids being small, I do think its important to look at a "good" school as its not just the standard of teaching but also the friends you may or may not wan t your kids to make. I know that may sound a bit controversial but I do think the schools can be quite different in their approach and also the kids that go to that school and this can be driven by the type of area you choose. its no different to being back in the UK in reality. I think everywhere in Canberra is easy to get to also so if you are southside and you make freinds in the north then its still not THAT far and people tend to meet in a central point like civic anyway for big nights out. We chose Campbell to live in - we pay a premium for this but this is offset against not having to buy and expense another car, not paying $50 a week in parking in civic and having a happy husband who is not in a bad mood after a rubbish commute on public transport from a distant suburb to and from work(which is what we left when we left London). We were in Ainslie to start with and I like all of the inner north for its easy access to the centre of town. Campbell is a 15 minute walk for us to the city and my husband walks or bikes to work. I love the inner south as it has a lovely "feel" about it. The downside is thats its pricey. There are good things and bad things about most areas and I dont hink you can decide until you get here. Dont feel you HAVE to go north just because it seems everyone else from England seems to do that as it really may not suit you.. also, you are coming all the way to Australia and some may feel its actually better having moved so far away from home, to actually be immersed a bit more in Aussie life rather than look for where the other Brits have moved to and go there...but some may rather be nearer other people from the UK. Canberra really does not feel like a city like in the UK. Al of it is like a country town in reality so I think you just need to find an area that suits you and your family.. it all feel fairly suburban compared to Sydney for example. How old are your kids? Angela

Hi and thanks for the message Your kids are the same age as mine:-) I have a 5 year old sone and a 3 year old daughter! First of all - are you thining of government or pricate schooling for the kids? I have visited both. The inner south is where you want to be if you want private as the grammar school are based there, but I would think about getting your kids on a waiting list if thats what you want. All the good government schools allow kids from their catchment so where you live will determine where your kids are likley to get a place in a school. the inner south is the most pricey place to live in Canberra but very nice :-) The Inner north is very pricey too and also nice as are other places, however my hubby works in the city and so he did not want to commute so we live next to the city (and pay for it!) Did you know that Yarralumla Primary school is Italian/bilingual. They teach 50% in Italian and 50% in English so your kids may be suited here? Yarralumla is a lovely place to live here as is Deakin. The shops in Deakin are great and there is a Fitness First there too which I go to after I drop the kids off at school. I think that your plan is an excellent one and its what I did. In fact we did not even look at houses until we had shortlisted the best schools and then looked for a rental in the areas where we like the school. I would try and write and call the principal as often they did not respond. Garran and Chapman will not allow a visit unless you already live in their catchment as they are very good and popular schools. Regarding your daughter, you are in the same position as me. My daughter turns 4 in July and the deadline here is the 30th April to turn 4 before you can attend pre school. They are vvvv strict about this and we have appealled twice to the government to allow our daughter to attend school here as we are on a temporary visa but they will not allow it unless you are on a 2 year visa. You can try but thus far Mia is going to school later than she would in the UK because of this. She goes to The Montesorri Pre school which is next to Yarralumla Primary and on their grounds, 2 mornings a week at the moment and this is EXCELLENT and they take them from 3 (waiting list also but is accessible). The Catholic schools are also good and there is St Peter and St paul in Garran, The Catholic school in Curtin which is good also (cannot recall name..). Curtin Primary is a good school esp if you child is artistic but I did not go for this as I was looking for a school with ceratin focus for my son who has a gifted maths ability. Garran Primary is EXCELLENT but driven by catchment and I would strongly reccommend this school but they are strict on catchment. Yarralumla, Deakin and Red Hill are good schools in the Inner south - but I have not visited them but have heard from other parents. They are not the best (if you are just looking at NAPLAN results) but they are in a good demographic area so benefit from that I think. There is of course the Grammar schools in the inner south which have excellent results but is a costly option. We did not opt for this because we came to Canberra with little notice and my son needed to start school straight away but I did look round them and they are good. We live next to one of the campuses actually. Torrens Primary is also another v good school that I visited and thats in the Inner south. The inner North has some good schools. Emmaus Christian school I liked alot (waiting list), If you are going further north Aranda Primary was good also. To be honest I shortlisted the good schools (NAPLAN results) so cannot say I saw one that I hated but I did have preferences. For example I felt Curtin was excellent but very chaotic in style and my son would not have thrived in that environment. It has an excellent gifted scheme though and a focus on ART so some kids (like my daughter for example) would fare well there I think. Write and Ill answer any questions you might have :-) my email is angela820@hotmail.com Angela

We tried that and said no. We have been looking around and its actually quite quiet. I have had 4 agents say its been a v quiet start. Apparently its becasue there are less govvernement postings this year, more student housing available and people are buying as prices are stable... dunno. Rents are def higher. We have applied for a place in Campbell and if we dont get it we will stay put till November as I have got to a point where I just want my stuff! Nice to hear from you! Angela

Thanks v much. Ive been looking on allhomes and all the rents seem higher than when we first got here in Nov and Im wondering if rents are actually higher per week at the moment becuase they can just demand more? Does anyone know? Angela

It looks like the owners of the house we are renting in Ainslie want to sell. they have told us we can break the years lease early and find some where else to live by end of Feb if we wish OR we can stay in property till November 2012 and find something then (or as early as Sept if we wish). Pros for leaving are it means we can find a place nearer my sons school and our stuff is not yet here from the UK so we can find something else before it gets here and then have it all delivered to a long term rental. Cons are that we are moving at the WORSE time of year - or is it? We want inner North, Inner South areas and Garran/Hughes/Curtin at a push. anywa dvice on this as we are sitting on the fence and have not yet made up our minds what to do. Are rental prices higher during this times of year. some people have said we will have more choice now - but I dont want us to end up with NOTHING by end of Feb. We arrived Mid Nov and that was busy but Im not sure if it will be the same or busier? Can anyone advise?????

What is the meet time? Angela

excellent idea!

We got a company sponsored 457 visa and from it being lodged at the visa office it took 10 days. You do have to have all the bits for them to lodge it though and that took a little bit of time. We were told anything from 2-8 weeks. We got here at the start of Nov 2011 Angela

We are not going to Sydney any more so I think we can now make it :-) Angela and Matthew and kids

Hello again One thing to note is that "Better Education" website uses 2009 figures. This is kind of why we were happy with North Ainslie but when you look at the 2010 figures (which is not taken into account in this list), North Ainslie Primary dont do as well compared to others. They are good but certainly not the best - in fact Ainslie (not featured in the better school list) scores better in 2010 than NOrth ainslie which I only discovered afterwards.... maybe Im taking it all too literally. I would love to hear any opinions n the NAPLAN score as all schools were pretty critical of it and Im not sure why or how they are measured but used it as a guide alongside the better schools list.