Guest Karen and Euan Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Thank you all for you responces and advice, its just what I needed to hear. I think I must of been having an off day yesterday and am feeling alot more possitive about the move after hearing your views and rethinking things today. I've decided to take a trip to Canberra without the family once are visas are issued to check the place out and have a better idea of areas, schools etc before we all head out there. I've always had a sence of adventure and I really want this to happen. I'm busy planning how,where,when etc. As my old gran used to say 'Nothing worth doing is ever easy' I love Australia and I always have since I first visited there in my 20's, I've been back a few times since so I guess I know what to expect in some ways. It will be like starting all over again with the kids in tow (4yrs and 7yrs). We are hard workers and can turn our hand to anything should we find the job market difficult. My life here in Uk is good but why settle for good when you can have great, there is so much we cant do in this country due to the poor weather. Quoll, whats your opinion on Casey the new housing development on the northern outer suburbs? Thanks again for letting me know Im not alone with my worries. Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I admit to being something of a snob and dont much like the new builds but each to their own - I do like the more established suburbs (I'm an inner North girl) and the bigger blocks. Casey doesnt have its own schools and may never get any because it falls into the Gold Ck catchment - bit further to school but nothing too disastrous. Getting from anywhere in Gungahlin to Civic is a bit of a chore at the moment and that is the usual complaint from those that live there. The buses arent as regular as the commuting public would like and there are some notorious black spots for mobile phone coverage. In reality, nowhere is that bad in ACT, although you probably want to check out the neighbours wherever you go and try and avoid Charnwood, Richardson and Narrabundah if you can (if you cant, then it's no big deal). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n30nra1n Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 surhythms, we will be renting a car also when we get to Sydney who have you used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n30nra1n Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Karen, You have already seen you are not alone, we got our visa in January and once again started looking into things and had a small heart attack over jobs, housing prices etc etc. You will have your up days and your down days, lord knows we still are and the decision of course is yours alone to make, but one thing I can assure you of is we are all here to chat and answer questions, something I found out when I joined recently, the guys and gals here really are awesome and I'd like to think I will be able to meet as man of them as possible once we are out there even if it is just to say thank you in person Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surhythms Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 surhythms, we will be renting a car also when we get to Sydney who have you used? Hi Dave We used carehire3000.ie - I think there is a .com version aswell but if you just put in the GBP sign it will come up with a UK price. I think we got a Camry as far as I remember and it ccost about €450 for 2 weeks Suzanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claireg Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Hi Dave We used carehire3000.ie - I think there is a .com version aswell but if you just put in the GBP sign it will come up with a UK price. I think we got a Camry as far as I remember and it ccost about €450 for 2 weeks Suzanne Thanks for this Suzanne. I was looking at carhire3000.com last night as we need a car for 11 days in England before we fly out so we can visit family and they came back the cheapest. Will look again on their site for Oz rental too. Thanks Claire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surhythms Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Thanks for this Suzanne. I was looking at carhire3000.com last night as we need a car for 11 days in England before we fly out so we can visit family and they came back the cheapest. Will look again on their site for Oz rental too. Thanks Claire No problem Claire - we shopped around aswell and they came out the cheapest - we also got a cheapish rental in Canberra - now its in Tuggeranong and a bit of the way out but we'd rather save the money for a bond for a perm rental. Hope the plans are going good for you. We are counting the hours now!! Suzanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal2 Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 have just read all this thread, so much information, thanks everyone. We're at very early days, OH jas been offered a 457, but we're not sure wether in Sydney or Canberra. They've said we can choose, but I dont know what to think, we have 2 children 8 and 5 I guess family life is a priority thank for all the info Cal:daydreaming: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surhythms Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 have just read all this thread, so much information, thanks everyone. We're at very early days, OH jas been offered a 457, but we're not sure wether in Sydney or Canberra. They've said we can choose, but I dont know what to think, we have 2 children 8 and 5 I guess family life is a priority thank for all the info Cal:daydreaming: Hi Cal Welcome to the forum!! Wow thats great that you can choose where you are going to live!! I cant tell you which is better Canberra or Sydney because Ive never been to either city. The OH has lived in Sydney on his first stint to Oz but that was a few years back in the days when he was single. From my knowledge Sydney is alot bigger than Canberra and Im sure Quoll will tell you that from her experience Canberra is one of the better places to live in Oz. Im not only saying this because we are moving to Canberra but I think I would prefer Canberra to Sydney as it is smaller, easy enough to get around and seems to be family orientated. Ok the rentals are expensive and the market is tight but the salaries are higher than anywhere else although I have heard that the employment market is tight aswell. The only suggestion that I can give you is to have a look at the cost of living for your family and think about what you are trying to achieve. Maybe you would like a big city with lots of hussle and bustle. We are from Dublin and live in the suburbs so rarely go into the city centre at all. We are looking for something more laid back now. AFAIK the schooling systems in Canberra and Sydney are different aswell. Good luck with your decision. Suzanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 have just read all this thread, so much information, thanks everyone. We're at very early days, OH jas been offered a 457, but we're not sure wether in Sydney or Canberra. They've said we can choose, but I dont know what to think, we have 2 children 8 and 5 I guess family life is a priority thank for all the info Cal:daydreaming: You do realize that you will have to pay school fees for both kids in both places. NSW will cost you $4.5k pa per child and ACT could be as much as $10k per child per year - it all depends on whether his occupation is on the SOL or not (they have been known to waive the international fees if the occupation is in demand) otherwise you will be forking out about $3k per child per year for a systemic Catholic school so be sure to take into account the $6k, $9k or $20k pa for education depending on where you go. The two places are different as chalk and cheese - it will depend on how much you earn, where you work and what you aspire to as to which is going to best meet your needs. If you are on the basic 457 wage then you are going to struggle in either place and probably have to compromise on a hell of a lot of your expectations. If, OTOH you are coming on a decent whack then you should be fine. You will probably find pretty much all over that young families tend to need to be two income families so there isnt as much "mothers group" stuff going on as you might expect. Personally, I would take Canberra every time. I go up to Sydney for the day and cant wait to escape - small doses is about all I can stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuching Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Hi All, just wondering, does any of you heard of Greentrees Apartments - self contained accommodation in Canberra, ACT ? They have furnished accommodation in Reid and Braddon area. What do you think about this area? Hope to get some ideas :biggrin: Many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surhythms Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Hi All, just wondering, does any of you heard of Greentrees Apartments - self contained accommodation in Canberra, ACT ? They have furnished accommodation in Reid and Braddon area. What do you think about this area? Hope to get some ideas :biggrin: Many thanks! Hi Ching I dont know anything about this place but the prices are very reasonable - I might enquire myself!! Reid and Braddon are fine to the best of my knowledge - they are inner north and very central. Thanks for posting the link Suzanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claireg Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 I am having trouble finding anywhere that isn't ridiculously expensive, booked already or too early to enquire. Spent hours yesterday researching. Having a break from it today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Reid and Braddon are generally OK - there are some government housing complexes in both suburbs but from the pictures I cant see just where the Greentrees places are. For the most part they are OK suburbs though. You really need to budget for at least $1k pw I reckon for short term furnished accommodation if you want more than one room anyway. If you go into allhomes and do an advanced search in the rental properties, check features/short term then you can see what might be available. This one looks good to me 62 Kennedy Street, Kingston Real Estate For Rent | allhomes or 28 Westgarth Street, O'Connor Real Estate For Rent | allhomes or maybe even 14/57 Torrens Street, Braddon Real Estate For Rent | allhomes and my favourite Higgins Crescent, Ainslie Real Estate For Rent | allhomes They do say they are short term but you would have to check them out individually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuching Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Hi Ching I dont know anything about this place but the prices are very reasonable - I might enquire myself!! Reid and Braddon are fine to the best of my knowledge - they are inner north and very central. Thanks for posting the link Suzanne Hi Suzanne, happy that you find this helpful. I had emailed them, but so far haven't received any reply yet. I couldn't see any phone number published on their website .. so can't manage to make any phone calls. Please let me know if you manage to check out the place. Many thanks :cute: ching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuching Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 I am having trouble finding anywhere that isn't ridiculously expensive, booked already or too early to enquire. Spent hours yesterday researching. Having a break from it today! Hi, we will be going to Canberra on 27 Sep, and you will be 4 Oct.. about the same time :biggrin: Quoll, again.. thanks for the useful links! you're marvelous ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claireg Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 Hi, we will be going to Canberra on 27 Sep, and you will be 4 Oct.. about the same time :biggrin: Quoll, again.. thanks for the useful links! you're marvelous ! Have you found short term accommodation yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claireg Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 No problem Claire - we shopped around aswell and they came out the cheapest - we also got a cheapish rental in Canberra - now its in Tuggeranong and a bit of the way out but we'd rather save the money for a bond for a perm rental. Hope the plans are going good for you. We are counting the hours now!! Suzanne Hi Suzanne. Could you let me know the name and/or the link for your short term rental. We are really struggling to find somewhere. Lots of places are way too expensive for what they are or already booked up. Even a basic campsite unit wants over $100 per night and you have to bring your own bedding and pillows! Thanks Claire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 We arrive in Canberra at the end of April - can't wait ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuching Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Have you found short term accommodation yet? Hi claireg, we haven't booked yet but we are considering this: http://www.canberrafurnished.com.au/rates/ since, we are just a couple with no children, we are considering the budget studio unit at Griffith. One thing, we are quite worry is the area, not sure if McMillan Crescent area is good. We haven't been to Canberra so we do not have any idea of how the area environment is .. we are just researching using google map / street view and in the forum. Please share with us if you have any findings. Cheers! ching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surhythms Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Hi Suzanne. Could you let me know the name and/or the link for your short term rental. We are really struggling to find somewhere. Lots of places are way too expensive for what they are or already booked up. Even a basic campsite unit wants over $100 per night and you have to bring your own bedding and pillows! Thanks Claire Hi Claire This is a 2 bed flat annex off the main house - the reviews look good and they are charging us AUD 85 per night for the 3 of us. http://www.takeabreak.com.au/SouthACT/CanberraandSurrounds/Langley-Heights-Bed-and-Breafast.htm Ching also mentioned Greentrees apartments which looks fairly resonable : http://www.greentrees.com.au/ - I emailed them but they havent got back to me yet. Suzanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surhythms Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Hi claireg, we haven't booked yet but we are considering this: http://www.canberrafurnished.com.au/rates/ since, we are just a couple with no children, we are considering the budget studio unit at Griffith. One thing, we are quite worry is the area, not sure if McMillan Crescent area is good. We haven't been to Canberra so we do not have any idea of how the area environment is .. we are just researching using google map / street view and in the forum. Please share with us if you have any findings. Cheers! ching Hi Ching I know there are only 2 of you but we enquired for this accomodation and the cost for 4 weeks for 3 people was AUD 3900 in Griffith. I think Griffith is fine and it is pretty central. Suzanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest destinationoz Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Hi Ching We stayed in this apartment on our validation trip last year .... The location is good-not far from Manuka with supermarket etc and only about 10 mins drive to city centre. Seemed quiet location but did hear there had been a couple of cars broken into but we didn't experience that. In terms of the "budget apartment" - it was ok - we asked for a "put up" bed in the bedroom for our son and they claimed we hadn't and tried to charge us more - I refused and spoke to the manager who did provide a mattress & bedding begrudgingly! The actual apt is ok - it's not fancy or super modern but it's relatively clean and has most things you'll need for a short stay (we stayed in it 4 weeks) however be warned as it's only weatherboard and only has 2 small electric heaters that you could pay extra for and it was VERY cold especially in the evenings/night - we were there in May. Happy to answer any specific questions if you want to PM me. Overall - not bad value for money but cold! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuching Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Hi Ching I know there are only 2 of you but we enquired for this accomodation and the cost for 4 weeks for 3 people was AUD 3900 in Griffith. I think Griffith is fine and it is pretty central. Suzanne Thank you Suzanne, we are thinking to take the budget studio for 12 weeks .. which will get the 415 pw rate. not sure if this is wise. On the other note, I have not received any reply from Greentrees too.. I think maybe they business does not exist anymore?! And, by the way, how is the long term lease in Australia goes, for instance, if we rented a house for one year lease but then we might need to move out before the lease ended, will there be any penalty we need to pay for ? ching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Hi Ching I know there are only 2 of you but we enquired for this accomodation and the cost for 4 weeks for 3 people was AUD 3900 in Griffith. I think Griffith is fine and it is pretty central. Suzanne Hmm, Griffith is OK but McMillan Cres would have to be scraping it to be in Griffith (yes, I know it is but it is closer to Narrabundah than most folk would like - in fact it came as a great shock to me to see that they called themselves Griffith and I know one family stayed there and on their last night the car park got ram raided and IIRC some of the cars from the car park stolen.) I think if you just pointed to a map and asked any Canberran which suburb you were pointing to the vast majority would say Narrabundah. It's about 10km out of the centre of Civic at a guess. However, if you are just there for short term it's as good a place as any, there will be buses going into Civic on the half hour. It's not that close to shops though and it would be either a long walk or a short drive to the supermarket (and you would probably want to avoid the 'Bundah supermarket although there is an excellent restaurant next door to it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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