Visiting Canberra in January 2011

[Guest Sal1000]

First time post here - we have ACT state sponsorship, Feb 2011 and are awaiting our 176 visa - expected May 2011. Meds and police checks all completed.

Although we will have a visa we are visiting first before totally deciding to move as my husband has never been to Australia before.

We have two small kids, both under 5, and want to see if Canberra really can offer a good lifestyle. As part of a holiday trip we are visiting Canberra for a week to see what it has to offer.

My husband is an independent consultant specialising in E2E financial processes - has anyone got a view of the market place for consultancy in ACT?

Also - any recommendation of suburbs to view when we are over would be great.

Thanks

Sal

[Quoll]

Canberra is full of consultants of one kind or another but have no idea what the market might be for your DH's particular niche. As many of the independent consultants here are one time public servants with a strong old boy network, they do seem to do OK except for when the government makes stringent cuts.

 

Where you live will depend largely on where you are planning to work and how much you can afford for a rental. Nowhere is particularly far from anywhere else so a commute will generally be less than an hour from top to bottom of the ACT. There are no suburbs which are stand out "must live in" but there are a couple to avoid if you can (Charnwood, Richardson and Narrabundah usually)

 

Be aware that Canberra in January can be a bit dead - it's the summer holidays and so most people head off for their vacation, the building industry closes altogether for the month and many of the usual activities for kids are closed for the holidays (the gym groups, music groups, playgroups etc). OTOH there will be more visitors from other states who come to Canberra in their holidays - so get your accommodation sorted early.