schools and areas to live in Canberra

[restfamily]

That fee ia def the perm resident fee based on the fact I am looking at $10000 for the pre-reception class next year. I hope that they clarify soon. Good luck with the visas. We arrived in April and the weather was still lovely and to be honest I had the best winter of my life!

[Quoll]

Re the airport, I am never quite sure which part it is going to affect - there are all sorts of arguments going on over it and it is by no means a fait accompli! I just know that DH was out leafleting against the proposals for a 24 hour hub there. I always thought that Jerrabomberra was actually under the flight path from the South - arrivals come in on it about 50% of the time. Most take offs seem to go out to the North. I guess they must be quite high when they fly over though.

 

Nicholls is up in Gungahlin, it is one of the older Gungahlin suburbs and is beginning to look more established than the building sites just a bit further out. There is a new road - the Gungahlin Drive Extension which is supposed to make life easier for people commuting into town. I guess it will be about 20km from The Canberra Hospital give or take a km or 2. The homes there have all been built within the past 8 - 10 years and have all the mod cons especially the Defence Housing ones if that is what you are being offered.

[restfamily]

Good point about the airport, hadnt even thought of that one, but that is the only reason my dh said we should not move there. DH modelled aircraft / airport noise for a living in the UK. It also reminds me the other day I went to get my new kitchen in Qbean and a few went overhead and made me stop and think how noise it is, especially with single glazing standard here.

 

The new road is great knocks a good 20mins off the journey, but you still have to deal with some road works in the next year before it is a very fast route from North to South. For ease you probably want to live in Weston Creek / Woden / T'nong for the hospital and the school.

[Guest ViknMark]

Thanks for the warning on the school fees. I will check that out right now. I did contact the enrolment department at CGS, I saw there was a particular fee for my son's year, and also further down a larger fee for 'late entry students', so I did check with her what we'd be paying, she said it'd be $14,800 pro rata, the late entry fee is for Years 11 and 12. Even though she hasn't said anything about it depending what visa we are on, I will get clarification on that. I will update on here when I have an answer.

 

A get together would be great. When we get our visa, I'll let you know when we'll be arriving - hopefully in enough time to see some sunshine before winter

 

As promised, this is the reply I got off CGS:

 

 

"It would be good to know the classification of your visa and then I can check with the Dept of Immigration to see if Rhys is to be classified as a Full Fee Paying Overseas Student. The FFPOS fee is $20040 per annum."

 

That is based on year 8. And as I mentioned previously, just because you are on a temp visa, does not automatically make you liable for school fees - which is frustrating as we won't know until we have got our visa through - another thing to look forward to....

:goofy:

 

CGS has always been very quick in replying to my emails - that's another good thing about the school.

:spinny:

 

Figners crossed now....

[Guest allinaus]

Hi, I'm wondering if you are still on this site. We are moving to Canberra Jan 2011 and I have the same queries you had initially. Would be very interested to know what you decided re schools and where you ended up living...and generally what you think of Canberra now you're there.

[Guest Shula]

Hi, I'm wondering if you are still on this site. We are moving to Canberra Jan 2011 and I have the same queries you had initially. Would be very interested to know what you decided re schools and where you ended up living...and generally what you think of Canberra now you're there.

 

 

Hi, we have been in Canberra for 2 years now and feel very settled. We knew we would be living to the north of the city to start with in a defence house. The suburb was Amaroo (Gungahlin) the house was fine to get us started but we quickly found out that it was very unpleasant in the summer (no aircon) and also very cold in the winter (open plan) I sound like a real moaner! but we did enjoy living there, very close to Yarrabi pond which was a beautiful spot with all the amenities you could want. Great area if you have young kids. The school in Amaroo has a good reputation, I also have friends with kids there that are very happy. We chose to send our 2 sons aged 12 and 13 at the time to Daramalan in Dickson. I don't know how old your kids are but our 2 have been to a lot of different schools with our postings and we wanted them to be able to stay in the same school until age 18 if they chose to do so. You probably are aware that in the public schools , the kids leave to complete their final 2 years in a college. The other preference we had was to send them to a co-educational school. Radford we were told had a 5 year waiting list, although it may be better now. After one summer and one winter in the defence house we decided to buy our own, and although we like Gungahlin area there is so much building going on, not just a few houses but whole new suburbs being built to the north and we felt that in time getting in and out of the city could be very busy. also we were a bit shocked at how close to each other all the houses were being built, but that seems to be what some people want here, big modern houses and not much land round about. Anyway that was not for us so we have moved to one of the older suburbs, Aranda, which is part of Belconnen and also nearer the city. We have a 4 bedroom house which is about 40 years old on a 850 meter block, so plenty of garden. It just depends on what you want. Ford, Harrison, Franklin and Crace are all new suburbs and in time I am sure will look great but right now they are still growing. Our favorite suburbs (i can only speak about the north ) are Aranda,Bruce, Lyneham, Hackett, Kaleen and Ainsley. You do get more for your money the further north and I presume the further south you go. We have found Canberra to be a clean and easy to live in city with lots of park lands, and reserves running between most of the suburbs. If you like walking or cycling there are some lovely trails. The public facilities are excellent., sports centres, swimming pools, hospitals etc. We have been to the coast probably about 8 times in the last 2 years with too many beautiful beaches to choose from, the nearest being about 2 hours away. We love the weather here apart from about 3 weeks in the summer and the same in the winter...extremes. Spring and autumn are beautiful, comfortable to walk around and cooler in the evening. It's sunny most of the time. I miss my family but don't miss too else about the UK. Hope I've not been too long winded. Anything else i can help with please don't hesitate to contact me. Good luck with your plans.

PS sorry if you received this more than once.

[Guest allinaus]

Hi Shula,

Thanks so much for so much info. I'm sorry to take this long to reply...to be honest I couldn't find your post (had an e-mail saying you had replied but when I clicked on it I went to posts from 2008!!).

It's great to hear that you are happy there....we have 3 boys (13, 14 and 16)...like you we've decided private so they don't move again. Really hard to choose a school though. Grammar and Radford have been recommended - Radford no places at all...Grammar think they will have places (but very, very expensive). The other school the ADF told us about was Burgmann Anglican School - have you heard anything about them? Are you happy with the school you chose?

 

Housing wise we've been told Jerrabomberra or Gungahlin are likely...although we're still 7 or 8 months away so who knows.

 

Sorry to bombard you with questions...as far as schools wish we could wait and decide once we got there but it seems that they all have waiting lists so any advice you had would be greatly appreciated!

 

Hopefully this e-mail will get to you.

 

Thanks again,

Cat

[Guest Shula]

Hi Cat, it is a very daunting process trying to sort everything out from the UK. Have you or your husband been out on a recce? Or are you planning one? I am presuming that you or hubby are part of defence. My hubby was a lateral recruit from the RAF to the RAAF so at least getting out to Aus is all taken care of. We too were told either Jerrabombera or Gungahlin area. The school we were recommended if going to Jerra was st Edmunds, it is a boy's catholic school. Most of the private schools apart from Radford or The Canberra Grammar seem to be hot on religion. We are not religious in the slightest and just our prefernce was to go co-ed. We are fairly happy with Daramalan, our eldest son ( aged 15 in year 11) is thriving but dislikes the religious side of things, our younger son age 14 in year 9 is doing ok in most subjects, really hates the religious side and is planning to leave to do his year 11 and 12 is another school! He is very in to music and art and there are public colleges which he would probably be happier in. So in hind sight we may have been as well to send them to diiferent schools perhaps our younger son could have gone to the local public school. There is an excellent school bus service from all suburbs. You asked about Burgmann Anglican, I don't know too much about it apart from our neighbours in Amaroo sent both their kids there (they used to cycle to school) and they were very happy. I also have a friend who does some relief teaching there and she feels the science labs don't have as much to offer as the bigger schools. I think the upper part of the school is still developing though. The other thing we did was put the boys names down for more than one school, Grammar and Dara and made our final decision when we got here. The Boys Grammar as you say is very expensive so for us we thought that Dara was a good compromise. here is a couple of websites you may want to check out if you haven't already done so. www.privateschoolsdirectory.com.au and also www.myschool.com.au . Hope this hasn't confused the issue, keep in touch let me know how your plans are doing and anything we can help with. Good luck.

[Guest TheStalkies]

Hi Cat,

 

We too came out as part of the lateral process (RAF to RAAF) - arrived here last November. We are currently renting a private house (with rental subsidy from DHA) as there were no DHA properties avail when we got here.

We have two daughters (16 and 12 - Years 11 and 7). Both are in state education, the eldest in college and the youngest at High School. It is a personal decision as to whether to go private or state but we have found that the establishments ours go to are both excellent - more so the college - but the high school is fine too. Whichever you choose there will be good kids and not so good kids going there - that's just life anywhere. The high schools work primarily using a catchment area, colleges the same but a lot more relaxed about it. Education seems a bit more laid back than the UK, with huge amounts of homework replaced with less frequent but larger assignments to complete. Our eldest enjoys college life a lot more than the Grammar School she attended in the UK - late starts 2 days a week (depends on course choices), calls her teachers by their christian names and is generally treated more as an adult.

We too have found Canberra to be a lovely place to live - easy to navigate, predominantly clean, lots of fresh air and walks/wildlife aplenty. The coast is a 2 hour drive, Sydney and Bondi a 3 hour trip. Hope this helps give the state school side of the story.

But as I said it comes down to individual preference - we all just want what's right for our kids.

Best of luck,

Angie & Ian

[Guest rucu1]

Hi There, My Husband has been offered a job in Canberra and Sydney but we are unsure as to both areas. I would prefer Canberra for a number of reasons but one of the main ones is the weather, not too many extremes. OH is from NZ but we are living in Ireland right now. We have 2 daughters (14 & 10) and are really concerned about their education. Can anyone give me some info on schools and how to go about choosing the right one, I'm not even sure what year their ages equate to????? I've been reading your posts and find them very interesting. So all replies would be gratefull received, thanks.

[surhythms]

Hi There, My Husband has been offered a job in Canberra and Sydney but we are unsure as to both areas. I would prefer Canberra for a number of reasons but one of the main ones is the weather, not too many extremes. OH is from NZ but we are living in Ireland right now. We have 2 daughters (14 & 10) and are really concerned about their education. Can anyone give me some info on schools and how to go about choosing the right one, I'm not even sure what year their ages equate to????? I've been reading your posts and find them very interesting. So all replies would be gratefull received, thanks.

 

 

Hi Rucu1

 

We are moving to Canberra in June with a 13 year old daughter. She is is first year in Ireland and because of her age and the difference in school terms she will start Year 8 in Canberra which is the equivalent of 2nd year in Ireland. Because we will be moving mid year she will miss out on 6 months of Year 8 but Quoll posted to me there yesterday saying that she may even be a bit ahead of some of the Year 8's when she arrives. The schooling is very different in Canberra and all states are different so the type of education will be different. AFAIK in Canberra they take an exam in Year 10 and then generally go to College in Year 11 & 12 which is the equivalent of our 5th & 6th Year and then its off to Uni. I guess depending on your 14 year olds birthday she will go into Year 8 or 9 I would imagine but I have been in contact with many schools and they said it is based on her reports etc but she will most likely be in Year 8. I have been in contact with both public and private schools and some of the public schools fare better on the NAPLAN scores than the private schools. With the public schools most will want you to be living in the Catchment Area but some will be a little more lenient depending on the principal. The private catholic schools and other privates dont require you to live in the catchment area. Catholic Schools with all the extra's are coming in at about AUD 5000 per year (thats including all the added extra's). Other private schools are coming in alot more expensive. Up to AUD 15,000 in some cases. There are very few single sex schools if thats what you are looking for and most seem to be co-ed. After a lot of thought we are going to wait until we get to Canberra and choose a school, meet the principal and see the environment before we commit. Im not sure about schooling for 10 year olds but AFAIK primary schools are pretty good in the ACT. When are you thinking of moving over?

 

Suzanne

[Quoll]

Hi Rucu1

 

. AFAIK in Canberra they take an exam in Year 10 and then generally go to College in Year 11 & 12 which is the equivalent of our 5th & 6th Year and then its off to Uni.

 

LOL - exams in Canberra? Not really! Canberra is the home of continuous assessment and although some schools might have some end of year assessments, in general it doesnt matter whether you have finished year 10 or not, you can still go on to year 11. I know quite a few kids who have "dropped out" to all intents and purposes before the end of year 10 but have chosen to go back into year 11 and no one bats an eye lid. The real exams are at Canberra Boys Grammar which is the only ACT school to do the HSC (NSW year 12 program)

[Quoll]

Hi There, My Husband has been offered a job in Canberra and Sydney but we are unsure as to both areas. I would prefer Canberra for a number of reasons but one of the main ones is the weather, not too many extremes. OH is from NZ but we are living in Ireland right now. We have 2 daughters (14 & 10) and are really concerned about their education. Can anyone give me some info on schools and how to go about choosing the right one, I'm not even sure what year their ages equate to????? I've been reading your posts and find them very interesting. So all replies would be gratefull received, thanks.

 

Canberra is much nicer than Sydney (cleaner, greener etc) but weather extremes is probably not one of them, unfortunately. We have colder winters and the summers are about the same but generally with a dry heat. Our range can be -10C through to 40+C (not in the same day of course!) - just checked the records -10C to 42C in Canberra and 2C to 45C in Sydney. We do have more definite seasons and as a place to live it is smaller (although the suburbs still sprawl) and so things are more easily accessible (not to mention beach and snow in 2 hours). We also have a fabulous range of facilities and resources. People do say it is "grey" because of all the public servants but in reality there is plenty to do and participate in if you care to look for it. It's looking pretty good now that we are out of drought which has made it look very dry and tired for about 7 years.

 

Housing is expensive but you still get more bang for your buck with central locations than you would in Sydney ($700k will get you a nice inner suburb house but wouldnt get you much in inner Sydney) and we dont have the troublespot areas that Sydney does although most people will want to avoid Charnwood, Narrabundah and Richardson. With ACT you have more of a chance to choose to live reasonably close to where you are going to be working - which is probably the most compelling reason for choosing somewhere to live.

 

Education is OK - almost 50% of HS kids go to private schools however which might give you a bit of a clue. Your kids (assuming they dont have a birthday between now and next Saturday) will be year 5 and year 9. Best idea is to check out the NAPLAN site for starters http://myschool.edu.au/ Personally I wouldnt opt for the Tuggeranong schools - they were all built in the hey day of "flexible learning areas" ie open space teaching which has meant that in primaries they are all pretty much 4 teacher units with only 3 sided partitions not full walled classrooms and with the best will in the world the ambient noise level can be a bit too much for comfort. Many Tugg HS parents choose to send their kids up the valley to Melrose or Alfred Deakin (or Marist, St Edmunds, St Clares or the Grammars) rather than go to the local HS and if you check the NAPLAN site you might get a clue why. If you can afford it, invest in the Grammars or Radford at least until the end of year 10 and then consider whether to move to one of the gov colleges (Narrabundah usually gets the accolades) at year 11.

[Guest rucu1]

Hi Susanne

 

Thanks a mil for all the information, I really appreciate you taking the time to get back to me.

We are hoping to leave Ireland around June or July, when the girls are on School holidays. I am leaning towards the Catholic private schools as they seem to have a very good reputation (not that I am very religious) and the fees as you quoted are quite reasonable. Jessica, our 14yr old, is at an all Irish school and just about to finish 2nd year. She is pretty much an A student and she loves sport. Phoebe, our 10yr old, is in 4th class and is doing really really well. She loves dance, drama and Gymnastics. We find the lack of facilities and the over emphasis on G.A.A to the exclusion of other sports very disappointing. I got a reply from Quoll also and was a bit worried about what she said about the lack of structure and exams etc but we'll just have to see. I think your idea of waiting to make a decision until you see the schools is a good one. Have you or your OH gotten jobs in Canberra is that why you chose it?

[Guest rucu1]

Hi Quoll

 

Thanks a mil for all the information, I really appreciate you taking the time to get back to me. I love the idea of more distinct seasons as opposed to one continuous Summer. I'm worried about what you said about lack of structure/ exams etc for the girls. I don't have a problem with continous assessment as long as it is of benefit. Jessica will be 15 at the begining of September and Phoebe will be 11 at the end of November, so I think your assessment of the years they would be in is correct. You mentioned the boys Grammer school is there an equivalent girls school?

[Quoll]

Hi Quoll

 

Thanks a mil for all the information, I really appreciate you taking the time to get back to me. I love the idea of more distinct seasons as opposed to one continuous Summer. I'm worried about what you said about lack of structure/ exams etc for the girls. I don't have a problem with continous assessment as long as it is of benefit. Jessica will be 15 at the begining of September and Phoebe will be 11 at the end of November, so I think your assessment of the years they would be in is correct. You mentioned the boys Grammer school is there an equivalent girls school?

 

Yup CCEGS (Canberra Church of England Girls Grammar School).

[surhythms]

LOL - exams in Canberra? Not really! Canberra is the home of continuous assessment and although some schools might have some end of year assessments, in general it doesnt matter whether you have finished year 10 or not, you can still go on to year 11. I know quite a few kids who have "dropped out" to all intents and purposes before the end of year 10 but have chosen to go back into year 11 and no one bats an eye lid. The real exams are at Canberra Boys Grammar which is the only ACT school to do the HSC (NSW year 12 program)

 

 

I knew that Canberra had continuous assessment but how do the kids get into Uni if they dont do real exams? Is ANU not in the top 100 Uni's in the country ? Ive no problem with the continuous assessment side of things because we do the total opposite here in Ireland and everything is based on the Leaving Certificate Exam (done in Year 12) - you need certain points to get certain degree courses etc etc. However if you can drop out and go back in the following year how on earth does this work?

[surhythms]

Hi Susanne

 

Thanks a mil for all the information, I really appreciate you taking the time to get back to me.

We are hoping to leave Ireland around June or July, when the girls are on School holidays. I am leaning towards the Catholic private schools as they seem to have a very good reputation (not that I am very religious) and the fees as you quoted are quite reasonable. Jessica, our 14yr old, is at an all Irish school and just about to finish 2nd year. She is pretty much an A student and she loves sport. Phoebe, our 10yr old, is in 4th class and is doing really really well. She loves dance, drama and Gymnastics. We find the lack of facilities and the over emphasis on G.A.A to the exclusion of other sports very disappointing. I got a reply from Quoll also and was a bit worried about what she said about the lack of structure and exams etc but we'll just have to see. I think your idea of waiting to make a decision until you see the schools is a good one. Have you or your OH gotten jobs in Canberra is that why you chose it?

 

 

Yeah I was leaning towards the Catholic Privates aswell but after looking at the NAPLAN scores there seems to be Public Schools aswell that have good scores. Sarah (13) is really interested in Arts & Music and she is good academically but I guess every child is different and you know your children and what will suit them best. I think the ACT do schooling a little bit different to what we have in Ireland and it took me a while to get my head around it. Being honest I like the idea of continuous assessment once it has a bit of substance but you can really make a judgement unil the kids are in school. We chose Canberra because the OH's job was on the state migration list. We could have gone for South Australia aswell but we prefferred Canberra as an option. We have both started applying for jobs over the last couple of weeks and have had some responses so we will see what happens. We only have another 5 weeks so we thought it would be best to have a look now around the job market.

 

Suzanne

[Guest rucu1]

thanks I will have a look at the website.

[Quoll]

I knew that Canberra had continuous assessment but how do the kids get into Uni if they dont do real exams? Is ANU not in the top 100 Uni's in the country ? Ive no problem with the continuous assessment side of things because we do the total opposite here in Ireland and everything is based on the Leaving Certificate Exam (done in Year 12) - you need certain points to get certain degree courses etc etc. However if you can drop out and go back in the following year how on earth does this work?

 

ANU is in the top 100 universities in the world (about #50 IIRC) it has little to do with the ACT system of education - it takes kids from all over Australia in the same way that ACT kids go all over the place for uni. There is a moderation process which gives equivalent ratings depending on the state you come from.

 

ACT is a law unto itself and the year 11/12 course is unique. Basics here http://www.bsss.act.edu.au/years_11_and_12/act_senior_secondary_system follow the links for more information.

[Guest rucu1]

We chose Canberra because the OH's job was on the state migration list. We could have gone for South Australia aswell but we prefferred Canberra as an option. We have both started applying for jobs over the last couple of weeks and have had some responses so we will see what happens. We only have another 5 weeks so we thought it would be best to have a look now around the job market.

 

Suzanne

 

Have either of you been to Canberra before? Do you have family in OZ? How did Sarah take it when you told her you were considering the move? We have only told Jess at this stage and at first, naturally, she was a bit shocked but as she loves to sail, surf etc - any watersports really - she is coming around to the idea. Its the friends they will miss the most. But hopefully school will take care of that worry for them. We are trying to get so much info beforehand but in the end I think you just have to take a chance and go for it. I will check out NAPLAN. I am very happy with continous assessments thats how they do it at Jessica's school at the moment. So we will just have to wait and see. Its really good to talk to someone who is in same boat as wer are, Ruth

[surhythms]

Have either of you been to Canberra before? Do you have family in OZ? How did Sarah take it when you told her you were considering the move? We have only told Jess at this stage and at first, naturally, she was a bit shocked but as she loves to sail, surf etc - any watersports really - she is coming around to the idea. Its the friends they will miss the most. But hopefully school will take care of that worry for them. We are trying to get so much info beforehand but in the end I think you just have to take a chance and go for it. I will check out NAPLAN. I am very happy with continous assessments thats how they do it at Jessica's school at the moment. So we will just have to wait and see. Its really good to talk to someone who is in same boat as wer are, Ruth

 

 

Hi Ruth

 

Neither of us have been to Canberra before but the OH lived in Sydney for 3 years previously. We dont have family in Oz apart from a cousin of mine and a couple of people I know have moved over in the last 5 years but they wont be in Canberra. Sarah has known about the move for the last 2 years so its been a conversation that we have had quite often but yeah just like yourselves its the friends she will miss the most. At first she didnt want to go but she is looking forward to it now. I only have one sister who is probably going to leave Ireland anyway and my parents have lived out of Ireland for the last 10 yrs so Im very used to not having them around. So really for us its a totally new life and really starting from scratch but we are going into it with our eyes wide open and know it wont be the easiest thing in the world but are willing to take the chance. Have you guys sorted out your accomodation yet?

 

Suzanne

[Guest rucu1]

Hi Ruth

 

Neither of us have been to Canberra before but the OH lived in Sydney for 3 years previously. We dont have family in Oz apart from a cousin of mine and a couple of people I know have moved over in the last 5 years but they wont be in Canberra. Sarah has known about the move for the last 2 years so its been a conversation that we have had quite often but yeah just like yourselves its the friends she will miss the most. At first she didnt want to go but she is looking forward to it now. I only have one sister who is probably going to leave Ireland anyway and my parents have lived out of Ireland for the last 10 yrs so Im very used to not having them around. So really for us its a totally new life and really starting from scratch but we are going into it with our eyes wide open and know it wont be the easiest thing in the world but are willing to take the chance. Have you guys sorted out your accomodation yet?

 

Suzanne

 

Hi Suzanne

 

No we haven't sorted out accomodation yet as the company will most likely organise something for us for the first month. My OH might even go before us as we are trying to sell the house and I may stick around for a bit longer to see if that can happen, mind you in this economy I'm having serious doubts. My OH is from NZ and we lived there for about 6yrs with Jessica being born there. We are pretty lucky that both girls have NZ Passports so we don't need to worry about visas t.g. We moved back to Ireland about 9 yrs ago for family reasons but really feel that its time to move on and up for a better lifestyle for the girls and us. Neither of us are really pub people so have always loved the Antipodean way of socialising, bbq, glass of wine/ beer with the kids running around etc! No matter where we have lived one of us have had family on the other side of the world so we are pretty used to it by now - its still hard at times though, especially when parents get ill or pass away. I do have a sister who lives in QLD, which is a bit like having one who lives in the east coast of the USA with the distances. This time we will be closer to the Kiwi clan but not too close ha ha. Its never easy but it sure is exciting. Hows your packing going? Are you guys taking a lot of your stuff with you? What moving co are you using?

 

 

Ruth

[surhythms]

Hi Suzanne

 

No we haven't sorted out accomodation yet as the company will most likely organise something for us for the first month. My OH might even go before us as we are trying to sell the house and I may stick around for a bit longer to see if that can happen, mind you in this economy I'm having serious doubts. My OH is from NZ and we lived there for about 6yrs with Jessica being born there. We are pretty lucky that both girls have NZ Passports so we don't need to worry about visas t.g. We moved back to Ireland about 9 yrs ago for family reasons but really feel that its time to move on and up for a better lifestyle for the girls and us. Neither of us are really pub people so have always loved the Antipodean way of socialising, bbq, glass of wine/ beer with the kids running around etc! No matter where we have lived one of us have had family on the other side of the world so we are pretty used to it by now - its still hard at times though, especially when parents get ill or pass away. I do have a sister who lives in QLD, which is a bit like having one who lives in the east coast of the USA with the distances. This time we will be closer to the Kiwi clan but not too close ha ha. Its never easy but it sure is exciting. Hows your packing going? Are you guys taking a lot of your stuff with you? What moving co are you using?

 

 

Ruth

 

 

Hi Ruth

 

Oh thats so handy getting your accomodation sorted for you - it took us a while but we have secured something for the first month anyway. Good luck with selling the house - its not great at the moment - we sold ours last year thankfully only lost a little bit on the sale. Its tough times isnt it!! We arent pub goers either to be honest! I cant remember the last time we were in a pub but deffo bbq's and wine suits me right down to the ground if only we had the weather here! Thats something I am looking forward to! The packing is going fine - loads of Vac Pac bags from Heatons - they are brilliant! We are getting married next week so its a bit crazy but the removal company are actually packing everything for us. We sold our house with the contents so we dont have any beds to bring just things like sofas, table and chairs, piano and all of our clothes so we are getting 600 cubic feet and its costing €3600 plus insurance. We are using Careline - they are an Irish company. We got about 3 or 4 quotes but they were all similar. Have you any idea of where you would like to settle in Canberra? So your OH has a job already? Thats great if he does!

 

Suzanne

[restfamily]

This just made me smile "Is ANU not in the top 100 Uni's in the country ?".

 

There are only 41 Universites in the whole of Australia (and include Melbourne College of Divinity in that)!! Another figure that made me realise the size of the population!

 

If you want to know about the quality of universities, the Australian Research Council have just completed their first full scale evaluation of all research in all subjects at all 41 institutions. Please note that its just research not teaching.

 

HTH