CommanderMaxil Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Have now spent my first 24 hours in the ACT. First impressions are very good. Its a beautiful place, and the weather has been nice. However, despite having a small population it is much bigger than expected and my plan to do without a car to focus on using buses and cycling may need revisiting later on. Luckily a friend of mine has managed to find me a great place to stay with friends of his and I have several viewings for flat later in the week organised through a flatmate finder website, so I was able to arrange lot in advance of arrival. I feel I will be very happy here. Just need to sort out a job and all will be perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abdullah Al Mamun Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 best wishes for your life !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 Oh yeah the size can confuse! Stay central and you might be able to get away with bike and bus. It's around 50-60km from top suburb to bottom suburb these days I think. Good luck with the job hunt, that can be the biggest challenge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathix Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Welcome to Canberra! it is a great place to live once you work your way around, much like anywhere, but yes I think if you are used to the convenience of town/city life back home then it is very different here. You can live without a car, depending on your suburb but you would certainly need to be living pretty central or in a major suburb at least, and the closer to your work the better as commuting at least half hour drive I believe is seen as pretty common here so walking or cycling is not always in your best interest. Public transport is not the best but the good thing is if you know someone that owns a car, as long as they have rego (registration) which i guess is works similarly to our tax discs back home, then anyone can drive the vehicle as long as you hold a full drivers license, which makes car sharing a very easy and affordable solution. (make sure you carry license with you at all times if it is UK) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest40285 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Good luck with everything and welcome to Australia, Happy days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABL275 Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Hi - welcome abooard! If you're looking for a cheap car then wait until Saturday morning; people take their cars for sale down to their nearest main road intersection and just park them on the grass with a priceand telephone number in the windscreen - some good bargains to be had. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommanderMaxil Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Thanks all, lots of good advice here I shall bear in mind. It seems pretty inevitable I will need a car in time but plan to hold off for a bit first and see how things develop, am unsure precisely where I shall be living yet or indeed working so no need to decide yet. Lots of things to sort out in any case! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Get your job first ideally, then you can then sort out where to live. If not, then aim for Central - Braddon, Reid, Acton in the first instance and hope you will be heading in the opposite direction from traffic during the rush hour! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bora Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 I thought the public transport was not too bad. Murrays ran a perfect service bang on time with plenty of room for big luggage too....quoll, can I hear you sniggering?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I thought the public transport was not too bad. Murrays ran a perfect service bang on time with plenty of room for big luggage too....quoll, can I hear you sniggering?! Moi? Sniggering? As if I would! Action is ok if you are in the inner suburbs and on some routes might actually get a bus more than once a half hour. In the outer burbs it's more erratic and if you are a young party going thing it sort of restricts your Cinderella time! Murrays doesn't do Canberra suburbs but they're ok for interstate trips and if you want to head off to Sydney you can't beat the early departures of a Murrays or Greyhound. Taxis are extortionate! Bike paths aren't too bad - my DH used to do a 36km round trip every day. I would have have found it impossible without a car and we actually found we needed two even though the DH cycled a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommanderMaxil Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 that useful to know. Actually today I went to visit a shared flat up in Evatt, quite far out but regular bus from the centre (312). Took about 40 mins which to me coming from London seems fine but has amazed the Canberrans I am staying with(who seem to consider any journey over 30 minutes an outrageous imposition on their time). There is also a fast bus to the centre which takes 20 mins so it all seems fine to me. I suppose its what you are used to. In London I used to do something like a 24 km round trip cycle each day so anything like that distance would be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommanderMaxil Posted March 19, 2014 Author Share Posted March 19, 2014 I think in any case I shall get an Australian driving licence so if and when the time come to get a car, I am all set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 Evatt - nah too far unless you're working in Belconnen. The trip will get old very quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABL275 Posted March 19, 2014 Share Posted March 19, 2014 I think in any case I shall get an Australian driving licence so if and when the time come to get a car, I am all set Just take your UK licence and $38 or thereabouts down to your local CanberraConnect office (one in each 'town centre' except maybe Gunghalin?) and they will give you a nice shiny new ACT licence in about 5 mins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misplaced Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Nearest is Belconnen for car licence. Quoll - I drive Amaroo to Belconnen everyday and its great.......beats BLackpool to Warrington anytime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Nearest is Belconnen for car licence. Quoll - I drive Amaroo to Belconnen everyday and its great.......beats BLackpool to Warrington anytime Amaroo to Belconnen not too bad - that's almost walking distance! I'd hate To have to do Banks or Dunlop to Civic every day. I was always very lucky, living in the centre but working on the outer so always going against the traffic watching the jams in the opposite direction on the Parkway or William Hovell or Kingsford Smith. How's the GDE doing these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Have now spent my first 24 hours in the ACT. First impressions are very good. Its a beautiful place, and the weather has been nice. However, despite having a small population it is much bigger than expected and my plan to do without a car to focus on using buses and cycling may need revisiting later on. Luckily a friend of mine has managed to find me a great place to stay with friends of his and I have several viewings for flat later in the week organised through a flatmate finder website, so I was able to arrange lot in advance of arrival. I feel I will be very happy here. Just need to sort out a job and all will be perfect! Yes, you need a car in Canberra, because although it's big, it doesn't have trains or trams. Unfortunately there are no carshare programmes in Canberra yet, unlike Sydney or Melbourne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Yes, you need a car in Canberra, because although it's big, it doesn't have trains or trams. Unfortunately there are no carshare programmes in Canberra yet, unlike Sydney or Melbourne. Big and going to get a lot bigger taking over parts of NSW so they reckon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurls Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Amaroo to Belconnen not too bad - that's almost walking distance! I'd hate To have to do Banks or Dunlop to Civic every day. I was always very lucky, living in the centre but working on the outer so always going against the traffic watching the jams in the opposite direction on the Parkway or William Hovell or Kingsford Smith. How's the GDE doing these days? I drive West Belconnen to Chifley most days, 20 minutes door to door. Actually William Hovell is a LOT better since they put extra lanes in Parkes Way. No tailback, lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Ooo didn't know that! Do you go over the Crossing? I liked that road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Ooo didn't know that! Do you go over the Crossing? I liked that road Not now you wouldn't! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurls Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Not any more. They are building Molonglo practically right up to the crossing (A bend or 2 after anyway) and diverted some of the road somewhat so there is no benefit to going that way at the moment really in my opinion. They've put a fair few houses up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Not any more. They are building Molonglo practically right up to the crossing (A bend or 2 after anyway) and diverted some of the road somewhat so there is no benefit to going that way at the moment really in my opinion. They've put a fair few houses up! Ah well, they'll be good to go when the next perfect storm fire comes in from the west, then. Shame, it used to be a good drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunniecat Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 my OH cycles a 36km round trip to work more often than not but we also discovered we needed 2 cars to get us to evening commitments in opposite directions. Welcome, Commander Max! Hope you enjoy it, we love the place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.