Not sure if I should move to Canberra

[Guest panksy29]

Hi

 

I am in the process of decideing on wether to move to Canberra from the UK. My wife has managed to secure a Visa to live and work in Canberra but I am not sure if I am likely to get a gob. I am currently working as an IT Technician but it is looking unlikely that I will get a job with my skills as I do not have security clearance which is needed for most IT jobs. I am also concerned about the cost of property in Canberra and am not sure if I can afford a decent house despite being mortgage free in the UK.

 

This is really confusing for me as I really like the thought of living in Canberra and think it has allot more to offer than most places in the UK.

 

We only have until Dec to move to Canberra before our Visa runs out.

 

Has anyone had simular experiences in making a decision on moving to Canberra. I am hopeing that if I do move there may be other job opportunities even if it means taking a non skilled job.

 

Jeremy

[Guest destinationoz]

For us - it's a gamble that we're prepared to take - albeit scary! We want to try something different, have new experiences, do some travelling over that way and give our son an alternative choice ... so we are going to rent out our house in the UK and move to Canberra - we'll stay for 5 years and hopefully get citizenship and then decide what next .. could be stay in the ACT, try a different state in Aus or go back to the UK short or long term - no-one said a move has to be forever so give it a whirl and see what happens! You may love it ....!

[Quoll]

You might find you need to branch out a bit - you only need permanent residency for ACT government jobs but, sadly, the IT market here is tricky to get into, not helped, of course, by the nice ACT people who think we need IT workers (the list of skills on demand is always out of synch with the job vacancies!)

 

You would probably need to be looking at around $500k to be mortgage free in a nice place in a nice area in Canberra (at the very least) and if you wanted closer in to the centre of town then more like $600 - 650k. You would probably need to be looking at jobs around the territory average of $80k to keep your head above water and probably have both of you on that salary to be comfortable, especially if you need to have a substantial mortgage.

 

Getting a job isnt usually that hard if you dont mind what you do - however once you start with expectations of income or career progression that is when it gets hard. But once you have a job it is always easier to get another.

 

It's actually quite a good place to live - even though it is wall to wall suburbs really, the spread isnt nearly as large as in the bigger cities and anywhere is accessible to anywhere else within 45 minutes even on a bad day.

 

I dont think it has more to offer than most places in UK - here you have "Canberra" then you have to drive 2+ hours to the snow or the beach or pretty much anything else which is worth a return visit. UK has far more variety within a smaller range IMHO although Canberra is well endowed with facilities (more 50m pools than the whole of UK IIRC). It doesnt have as much variety with history, culture, retail and even environmentally it is not as varied as a UK year (it does have all the national buildings though). We have mountains within an hour's drive which is a bit of a bonus and can see the bush from anywhere in town but that's about it.

[Zman]

Jeremy

Jobs

It might be easier to advise on your chances of a job if you detailed what branch of IT you have skills in, plus how many years, what qualifications you have (e.g. BSc, MSc etc). There is definitely a skills shortage in some domains. Yes, a security clearance is important but, with the skills shortage in place, some companies are off-shoring work to India, so it's not a deal breaker. IT workers here, with the right skills, tend to be the ones that enjoy a pretty decent standard of living.

 

Weather/Environment

As far as Canberra is concerned, we've been here 20 years or so and like the place. The four distinct seasons make it a little different and, whilst traffic has increased a lot in the last few years, I still manage to get to work in 15 minutes by car.

 

Shopping

Retail is not as good as the UK by any means but we've adapted. Sydney is a 3 hour drive away but, for some, the distances aren't as challenging as the seem. If shopping is your hobby then you'll suffer. Otherwise just pop up to Sydney a couple of times a year to get your fill! I sometimes shop in Singpore on my way to/from the UK and I buy other stuff online (books, music etc). Our local Borders store is closing but then the one in the town my mum lives in (in the UK) did so about 18 months ago!

 

Sports/Entertainment

As Quoll said, we're well served with sports facilities and eating out is acceptable although no where near as good as Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide (obviously).

 

The one thing I noticed about Oz all those years ago when we first got here and which still remains largely true is the much lower level of aggression. It does make a big difference at least for me!

[Guest panksy29]

Hi

 

Thanks for all your replies. I have only been in IT for a few years and have been working in a School providing IT Support to Teachers and Students. I do not have a degree but have passed a couple of Microsoft Certifications and ITIL Foundation. I have also worked as a Service Desk Analyst and a PC and Server hardware repair Technician.

 

I am not really worried what I do in Canberra as long as I can find work of some kind as I think that my wife should be able to get a decent job. I have to admit that I saw an advertisement for a Motorcycle Postman in Canberra and think it would be an enjoyable job with little stress and it may be nice to change things if I move anyway. It is encouraging to know that finding a job of some kind is not that hard.

 

I was also supprised to find that some other jobs advertised such as van courier jobs also sometimes ask for Security clearance.

 

Jeremy

[Zman]

I'm not sure why some courier jobs need a security clearance but remember that the Commonwealth (Federal) Government is the major purchaser of all business services in the ACT and some courier companies are used to collect/deliver classified documents, hence the probable need for a clearance.

[ABL275]

Hi, I've only recently arrived in Canberra having gone through the decision process myself. I was recruited into a job in Canberra from the UK but my wife works in IT and part of our decision was based on the assumption that she'd be able to find work here too. So far I'm hearing that there are plenty of IT jobs although many in Government may be restricted to Australian nationals only which kind of restricts the field for you.

 

Regards the city itself, I'd visited it before and liked it which is one of the reasons why I was comfortable with moving here. if you're twenty-something types wanting sun, sea, surfing and sails in the sunset then you won't find it in Canberra. Instead what you get is a new (most of it's been built since about 1960) purpose built city that has great landscapes, is really easy to get around and has plenty of facilities and open spaces.

 

For my wife and I it seems to offer comfortable, stress-free living (no more 6.00am commuting to London in the cold rain) and a safe environment in which to raise our daughter - which may sound like a real cardigan and carpet slippers comment but I was finding that just getting to work in the UK was increasingly a full body-contact sport and that I needed to sit down for half an hour after reaching the office just to recover, so I wouldn't underestimate the value of stress-free living.

 

You're right that Canberra isn't cheap but if your happy to live in some of the newer suburbs in the north of the city (Belconnen, Gungahlin) then you should still be able to find decent houses no more than 25 mins drive from the centre even at peak times.

 

Be careful to look into the detail when working your finances; depending on Visa type and situation you can get tax breaks against the cost of schooling, accommodation and eating out (yes really!) but on the downside we have to pay $9,300/year for our daughter to go to a local (state) school and it needs to be paid in a lump sum up front.