ACT/Northeren Territory

[Maria18]

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone has any experience living or working in Canberra, Darwin/ACT/Northern Territory. Originally I only researched QLD/NSW as that is where we wanted to go, but it seems we may have to look elsewhere due to my work experience (I have 2 years only as a Mental Health Nurse).

The homes I am looking at for ideas all seem very different to the ones in other parts of Aus, and the areas seem to be a lot more built up and business like.. Is this right? What are the beaches like in Canberra/Darwin, and the outdoor lifestyle in general?

We would be going to Aus mainly for the outdoor lifestyle and opportunities for my son (age 12 now), so I would just like some more information from people who have or do live there to hear some real thoughts! 

Thank you for any info you can give me!

[Toots]

31 minutes ago, Maria18 said:

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone has any experience living or working in Canberra, Darwin/ACT/Northern Territory. Originally I only researched QLD/NSW as that is where we wanted to go, but it seems we may have to look elsewhere due to my work experience (I have 2 years only as a Mental Health Nurse).

The homes I am looking at for ideas all seem very different to the ones in other parts of Aus, and the areas seem to be a lot more built up and business like.. Is this right? What are the beaches like in Canberra/Darwin, and the outdoor lifestyle in general?

We would be going to Aus mainly for the outdoor lifestyle and opportunities for my son (age 12 now), so I would just like some more information from people who have or do live there to hear some real thoughts! 

Thank you for any info you can give me!

I'm sure you will receive answers from people who live/have lived in ACT and Northern Territory.  If I had to choose it would be the ACT.  The Northern Territory is fairly remote and has a tropical climate.  Hot and humid in the rainy season but quite nice during the Australian winter.

There are no beaches in the ACT as it is inland but Canberra is the capital of Australia and a very nice place.  Anywhere near the cities are built up.  Do you want to live outside the cities?  Country towns in Australia aren't at all like country towns in the UK.  If you are an outdoorsy type of person you will be the same here.  

[Skani]

2 hours ago, Maria18 said:

The homes I am looking at for ideas all seem very different to the ones in other parts of Aus, and the areas seem to be a lot more built up and business like.. Is this right? What are the beaches like in Canberra/Darwin, and the outdoor lifestyle in general?

 "   other parts of Aus" could be a thousand very different places so I'm not sure which ones you are comparing them with.  However "built up and business like" is a reflection of population size and, in this respect, Darwin and Canberra are smaller cities - around 180,000 and 425,000 respectively, compared with say Sydney in NSW (5 million +) and Brisbane (Qld) (2.5 million).

Darwin has 2 seasons - hot and dry, hot and wet (with oppressive humidity) .  Canberra very definitely has 4 seasons which can include hot and dry in summer and cold and frosty (but often sunny) in winter.

Canberra has a beach by the lake - but probably not the type of Australian beach you are imagining.   Darwin has beaches but problems with deadly things in the sea -  jellyfish and crocodiles - so most of your swimming would be in pools.  

[Marisawright]

I'm surprised you would think either Darwin or Canberra are more built up than any other capital cities.   Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide are all bigger than Birmingham, or more than twice the size of Manchester.  So they are just as built up and businesslike as Birmingham or Manchester.  They just happen to be on the coast, so the suburbs near the coast have nice beaches - but it's mostly rich people who live there. 

Darwin and Canberra are small by comparison, but still big cities by UK standards.  Darwin is very hot and tropical, with a climate like none of the other states, so I suggest researching it.  It's a place you either absolutely love or absolutely hate.   Canberra is an inland city, no sea for miles.  It used to have a reputation as a boring place, but it's changed a lot in recent years and I like it.

[Quoll]

Canberra has a beach (theoretically!) it's just that it is about 220km away from where we all live!  There are closer beaches - Bateman's Bay at 150km and we have lakes - several lakes but people generally dont swim in them, most swimming is pool swimming.

Outdoor lifestyle??? I am always intrigued by that, what, exactly do you mean by it? People go outside for sure - lots of people walk around the lake, walk up the mountains, generally potter about.  BBQs? I am sure some people have lots of bbqs, there are public ones in most of the parks. Ride a bike? Sure, lots of bike paths. Sit on the verandah sipping pina coladas every night? Possibly - I am allergic to mosquitoes and I abhor flies so not so much for me.  Sunbathing in the back garden? Hmm - today it is below freezing and I wont be going anywhere without my fleece.  In the summer I prefer not to be burnt to a crisp so if I exercise I have to go out by 6am to get it done.  

Canberra has a lot to offer, real estate is expensive for what you get tbh.  It used to be the home of the "quarter acre block" and some of us are lucky to have one within a half hour walk of the centre of everything but they come at a price.  The further out you go into the new soulless suburbs the cheaper the accommodation and the more it costs you to get into town. There are lots of suburbs and pretty much everyone lives in one of them. Lots of sports clubs, interest based activities.  The hospitals are OK, the schools are OK, transport is OK, the weather is seasonal so we get spring and autumn which are pretty good.  It's cold in winter and hot in summer, we are prone to drought like the rest of Australia.

You could do much worse!