Guest sarahel Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Hi there Have just taken some advice from a migration agent and it appears that Canberra may be our only option......never considered Canberra before. Can any one give me some tips, whats it like? how close/far is it from the beach? is it a good place to live with a very young family (Children are 3yrs and 3mths), are there any prisons nearby (hubby is a prison officer - not planning a visit :biglaugh: is it an expensive place to live, many creepy crawlies wanting a piece of me? etc, etc... Don't want to move there just cos we can and hate it!!!! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AnnChovy Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 , whats it like? Like nowhere else on earth that I have ever been. It is a planned city and does feel artificial I must admit, but it has no traffic problems and loads of parks, and amazing museums and galleries. , how close/far is it from the beach? 2.5 hours approx from Bateman's Bay and what folks here call "The South Coast" which means the southern part of the East Coast.... It is also handy for skiing, if you are that way inclined. , is it a good place to live with a very young family (Children are 3yrs and 3mths), Absolutely Marvellous for small children! Quiet, safe, lots of pools, parks, playgrounds...... and lots of other people with small children- kids are a great way to meet people here. , are there any prisons nearby Funny you should ask. I drove past a place called the Alexander Maconochie Centre the other day and it looked so unlike anything else I had seen that I googled it. Apparently it is a brand new prison/remand centre. So they definitely have one....... , it an expensive place to live, Dunno- never lived elsewhere in Oz- I guess it is fairly typical, not sure though , many creepy crawlies wanting a piece of me? No funnel webs- we have redbacks but no one has died of a bite from one of them for years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thethreemacs Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Hi Sarahel It sounds like dejavu that its exactly what happen to hubby and I - Canberra was only option and we had never been here ( lots of other places in Oz, but not here) we have been here 11 months now and love it - I love the fact that it is a city, but it doesnt feel like one. That you can go off to the beach for a day - yeah its a 2.5 hr drive but we used to be that far from Skeg Vegas in the Uk. Definitely no more expensive (cost of living wise) than Sydney/Melb prob a lot less - and I think there may be 2 prisons here!!! I dont have any kids but have lots of friends who do and everyone I have spoken to says Canberra is the pace to raise a family.... I think AnnChovy's description of canberra is wonderful ( ann you should be a travel person to get ppl to canberra lol) You'll love it - good luck xxxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Been here 30 years next March and it is a fine place to bring up kids. Actually on a good day you can do Batemans Bay in just less than 2 hours but when the traffic gets going it will take you 2.5 hours! The beach down there is really nice and once you are on the Pacific Hwy the world is your oyster both north and south. If you fancy a slightly longer drive - about 3.5 hours you can go south to Merimbula (nicer IMHO) or 4.5 hours will get you to 90 mile beach down in Victoria. On the other side too, we are 2.5 hours from the snow fields if snow sports are your bag. If you sail or row then you can do that on Lake BG. Education-wise we seem to do OK in the national tables and there is a strong private system along with the public one so you do have a good choice of educational options. We have a free preschool system which is one of the best in the country (4+) and quite a good range of child care centres but it is generally a 2 income city so there is a demand on child care places. Facilities wise we would be amongst the best in the country - we have more 50m pools than in the whole of UK (unless you guys have built some more in the past couple of years). We do have the new Alexander McConachie centre which is a new model human rights prison and I know that they would kill for some new blood into the corrections service - as long as you are prepared to do the newstyle human rights training. There is also the Belconnen Remand Centre which gets a bad rep in the press but it probably pretty much like any other Remand Centre. We do have a Juvenile Justice Centre too - it was Quamby but I think they may have moved quite recently. It's on a par with the rest of Australia cost-wise. Our rents are quite high because there is a shortage of accommodation so expect to be paying c $400 a week and to buy a home you would be looking at about $400K bottom of the market (and choose carefully). There are enough suburbs where the idea was house +1/4acre but increasingly the houses are getting bigger and more McMansionistic and the blocks are getting smaller but if you look around you can still get the nicer blocks. Petrol tends to cost more here than up the road in Sydney (3 hours drive along dual carriage way btw). As AnnChovy said, it is a nice planned "bush" city so you get all the benefits of a country town while living in a city with all the national buildings. The big city people will tell you it is dull and boring which is a load of b*llocks really, there is plenty to do, some nice cafes, several good size malls (not monster ones) and quite a bit of community participation in sport, arts, charities etc. Yup redbacks pretty endemic in woodpiles but not in your loo (great Australian song about the redback on the toilet seat - bunkum!!!:biglaugh:) We do have snakes and lizards and in times of drought they do come into suburbia - we had an Eastern Water dragon in the garden recently and often get blue tongues. The snakes you will find in the bush and it is easy to walk in the bush from pretty much anywhere in town if that is your fancy. I have met a few snakes up Mt Ainslie in my time but they generally slither off when they hear you coming. We do have mozzies, flies and ants but, then, so does the rest of Australia. Oh yes, and we do have the occasional kangaroo in suburbia too - I live in Ainslie and we get them in our garden most nights because there is a water source - generally they stick to the fringes but you will see roadkill either in or close to suburbs. You could do much worse!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sarahel Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 Thanks for all that info Quoll, still not sold on Canberra but the scales are tipping! I was surprised to hear you say that the Corrections Service would welcome some new blood, my OH has searched all over the internet for prison officer/correctional officers jobs in Canberra and couldn't find anything! Is he looking in the wrong places? He ain't that great at this internet stuff!!!!! How practical is it to commute to prisons in NSW from Canberra, is that completely bonkers??? Also, a bit concerned about the old snakes/spiders situation (apart from the fact that I'm completely terrified of our slithery friends) how do children get on, I have sleepless nights already about what a snake would do faced with a nosey toddler! Obviously Australia is a country full of children but how do you explain to really young kids that spiders, snakes, etc.. really don't want to be harassed? In Canberra they pay correctional officers $38,000, somewhat less than the UK, would it be completely impossible to live on this salary alone - I noticed that you said that Canberra was pretty much a 2 income city. Thanks again for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 They actually had a recruitment drive for the new prison a few months ago and all they got were applications from the old Belconnen Remand Centre people which they were quite annoyed about. Corrective Services vacancies are generally here ACT Government Jobs - Justice and Community Safety The new centre was to have opened this month but there has been a snafu and it wont now be opened until about March - whether there will be further recruitment closer to that time I dont know Dont think about a direct comparison between UK/Aus salaries because they arent really relevant - you need to think about earning and spending in dollars not earning in pounds and spending in dollars. When you say commute - do you mean for the prison officers? Well, it would be a stretch. The next closest is Goulburn which is about an hour up the road to Sydney. Some folk do commute daily to and from Goulburn but I must say it isnt something I would like to do for more than a week especially not if I were working shifts. There used to be a high security jail at Cooma too but that closed down about 10 years ago. Goulburn is where all the really bad boys go! Yes, most families would be two income families I would think. I dont have the stats for that but knowing the make up of families in most of the schools I have worked in I would say that the vast majority were 2 income (or on welfare!) Honestly, you dont need to be worried about the slithery things. I had two boys here as babies and toddlers (very inquisitive ones) and never had a problem - you really dont even think about it. DS2 got bitten once by a redback when he was about 10 - during swimming training at the AIS but that was an awfully rare event. Your kids will be just fine, you will be just fine. And it is the same no matter where you go in Australia! They are more scared of you than you are of them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WishIdneverleft Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Have lived in Canberra for the last three years. Weather terrible, stinking hot in Summer and freezing cold in winter. $38 k a year gross would not cover your rent let alone living expenses. Come for a holiday and check the place out before you move! Sorry to be negative but most people come to Canberra for work rather than the lifestyle. hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toughspiders Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 SEEK Job Search - Find jobs using multiple job search options for your info??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Have lived in Canberra for the last three years. Weather terrible, stinking hot in Summer and freezing cold in winter. $38 k a year gross would not cover your rent let alone living expenses. Come for a holiday and check the place out before you move! Sorry to be negative but most people come to Canberra for work rather than the lifestyle. hope this helps! Heavens above, who would be wanting to survive here on $38k? Not possible unless you are rent/mortgage free and have a nice line in savings. I dont know anywhere in Aus that you could do that really unless it was some backwater and then there wouldnt be the job to give you that level of income anyway. (Ah yes, I see where the $38k came into it - I think Corrections would actually pay more than that, I would think $48k would be bottom of the range). Some current vacancies here http://www.jobs.act.gov.au/jobs_by_agency/justice_and_community_safety Disagree about the weather though, spring and autumn are just about perfect. Winter isnt THAT bad - cold overnight but the days arent horrible as the range is huge. The hot summer though - bleaugh! yup agree with you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 It really doesn't get that hot in summer these days and winters arn't as cold as they used to be. canberra gets the second highest amount of sunshine of any capital city only beaten by Perth. and the lifestyle can't be beat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sasbear Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Been here 30 years next March and it is a fine place to bring up kids. Actually on a good day you can do Batemans Bay in just less than 2 hours but when the traffic gets going it will take you 2.5 hours! The beach down there is really nice and once you are on the Pacific Hwy the world is your oyster both north and south. If you fancy a slightly longer drive - about 3.5 hours you can go south to Merimbula (nicer IMHO) or 4.5 hours will get you to 90 mile beach down in Victoria. On the other side too, we are 2.5 hours from the snow fields if snow sports are your bag. If you sail or row then you can do that on Lake BG. Education-wise we seem to do OK in the national tables and there is a strong private system along with the public one so you do have a good choice of educational options. We have a free preschool system which is one of the best in the country (4+) and quite a good range of child care centres but it is generally a 2 income city so there is a demand on child care places. Facilities wise we would be amongst the best in the country - we have more 50m pools than in the whole of UK (unless you guys have built some more in the past couple of years). We do have the new Alexander McConachie centre which is a new model human rights prison and I know that they would kill for some new blood into the corrections service - as long as you are prepared to do the newstyle human rights training. There is also the Belconnen Remand Centre which gets a bad rep in the press but it probably pretty much like any other Remand Centre. We do have a Juvenile Justice Centre too - it was Quamby but I think they may have moved quite recently. It's on a par with the rest of Australia cost-wise. Our rents are quite high because there is a shortage of accommodation so expect to be paying c $400 a week and to buy a home you would be looking at about $400K bottom of the market (and choose carefully). There are enough suburbs where the idea was house +1/4acre but increasingly the houses are getting bigger and more McMansionistic and the blocks are getting smaller but if you look around you can still get the nicer blocks. Petrol tends to cost more here than up the road in Sydney (3 hours drive along dual carriage way btw). As AnnChovy said, it is a nice planned "bush" city so you get all the benefits of a country town while living in a city with all the national buildings. The big city people will tell you it is dull and boring which is a load of b*llocks really, there is plenty to do, some nice cafes, several good size malls (not monster ones) and quite a bit of community participation in sport, arts, charities etc. Yup redbacks pretty endemic in woodpiles but not in your loo (great Australian song about the redback on the toilet seat - bunkum!!!:biglaugh:) We do have snakes and lizards and in times of drought they do come into suburbia - we had an Eastern Water dragon in the garden recently and often get blue tongues. The snakes you will find in the bush and it is easy to walk in the bush from pretty much anywhere in town if that is your fancy. I have met a few snakes up Mt Ainslie in my time but they generally slither off when they hear you coming. We do have mozzies, flies and ants but, then, so does the rest of Australia. Oh yes, and we do have the occasional kangaroo in suburbia too - I live in Ainslie and we get them in our garden most nights because there is a water source - generally they stick to the fringes but you will see roadkill either in or close to suburbs. You could do much worse!!!! Hey Q:hug: Nice to see you - I agree with all said above. BTW we are having a meet up this Saturday (depending on weather) - can you make it? Sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Hey Q:hug: Nice to see you - I agree with all said above. BTW we are having a meet up this Saturday (depending on weather) - can you make it? Sas Hi Sas Good to see you here Still up in the air about the weekend plans - waiting for someone else to make a decision! Will try though - Yarralumla Yacht club around lunch time huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
restfamily Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Can I gate crash Saturday if its a goer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I am sure it will be a case of the more the merrier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sasbear Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Can I gate crash Saturday if its a goer? Exactly as Quoll says - the more the merrier . I Normally post on another site so new to this one. But anyone in Canberra is welcome. Saying that it has forecast a few showers - so if anyone wants to come along just PM me for my mobile number and then i can update on the Friday night/Saturday morning. Some of the folks are taking fishing stuff and others are taking kayaks for a row about. Otherwise just bring a blanket/chair and something to eat :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taff Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 On of the best things about Canberra as a planned city is the amount of reserves and nature parks built into it. From my house I can walk for 10 mins and be in one of three nature reserves, (Aranda Bush, The Pinnacle, Mt Painter.) Canberra is the most underrated city in Aus, let's keep it that way, more space for me and me dogs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Dom and Elaine Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Canberra is the most underrated city in Aus, let's keep it that way, more space for me and me dogs! We are in a similar position having been told ACT was our only option. It is not a place I have ever considered before, but the more research we do the more I agree and it seems like being a great base to bring up a family. The weather doesn't seem as extreme as other places, and the traffic and general 'busyness' is encouragingly quiet. We are getting very excited about going, but I am slightly worried about the price and availability of housing..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Samfire Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 We are in a similar position having been told ACT was our only option. It is not a place I have ever considered before, but the more research we do the more I agree and it seems like being a great base to bring up a family. The weather doesn't seem as extreme as other places, and the traffic and general 'busyness' is encouragingly quiet. We are getting very excited about going, but I am slightly worried about the price and availability of housing..... We are of the same opinion as you - Canberra seems to be just the kind of place for raising children. It seems to get a lot of stick as being boring and clinical, but my guess is that many young single people may be putting that view out there - we're settled down with a family now and 'boring' (even though I'm sure it isn't) would be just fine by us, as long as it is stress-free, relaxed and offers opportunities and activities for the kids (and the big kids!) - my research tells me it does offer all these things!!!! We are really anxious to get going and are finding the visa application process a bit stressful - the endless waiting!!!! Like Dom and Elaine, we are also hoping that we can find affordable housing in an area of our choosing - it is worrying as we don't know what we'll get for our home here in Ireland, under the current economic climate and the longer we wait to sell, the worse it will probably get! Best of luck to all of you who are planning to move out to Canberra in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taff Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Canberra may be boring to the few younger people who move here out of necessity, but to me it is absolutely brilliant. lLast night we watched the Capital win the basketball* grand final, then went on to watch a first class rugby match (Brumbies) Canberra Capitals beat Bulleen Boomers 61-58 in WNBL final | Herald Sun Brumbies' desire trumps Waratahs | The Australian We also watched Aus vs Kuwait; AFP: Kuwait stun Aussies 1-0 in Asian Cup qualifying I watched India play Sri Lanka last year at our local cricket ground. I have several paragliding sites within an hours drive of my house. This month me the wife and kid are going to see both Steve Coogan and Dylan Moran live at the theatre, . Canberra Theatre Centre Canberra Theatre Centre We sw Bill Baily here not so long back. Bill Bailey - Tinselworm - Bill Bailey at Royal Theatre, Canberra, ACT on Sat, 13 Sep 12:00AM We've visited the Degas exhibition at the gallery; Degas: Master of French art last year we saw Alice Cooper play here and Iron Maiden. Midnight Oil play here this week. Sydney is a cheap ($30) bus ride away for big bands and events. The skiing, in season, is two hours away, the coast is doable in a couple of hours. Canberra borning? Not on your nelly it aint! *my kid got into basketball a couple of years ago, it's done wonders for her fitness, competitiveness, and social life, so I cannot knock it, even if it is a Yank game! She's also joined the sea scouts and regularly goes away sailing and canoeing with them. Canberra is great for kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Graham&kym Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Except by Perth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 4mapomz Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 We have lived in Canberra for the past 4 years since moving over from UK, we love it, great schools, great outdoor facilities, loads of activities for the kids, we have a 5 and 3 year old, only seen 1 snake a fair few redbacks but if you get your yard sprayed annually that keeps them at bay. We have a great quality of life and take full advantage of all the geographic and seasonal opportunities. One tip though for your OTH, there are plenty of opportunities in a wide ranging scope of work in Canberra, believe me I'm sure he can earn more than 38-48k maybe he could look at a wider range of jobs. I found that word of mouth and contacts helped when I started out here as soon as I'd made a few friends the tips and referals came too. Anyway good luck and wherever you choose it's got to be better than the UK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.