Possible Move From Adelaide To Canberra

[Marius]

Hallo Canberra natives :-)

We have lived in Adelaide since arriving in Oz in 2005 and we are citizens. We have seen a few other places and cities in the country since. Ive been approached for a job in Canberra with a defense company, in fact I'm flying there early next week for a face to face interview and things are at a stage now where I need to seriously consider or think about moving to Canberra. I've never been in Canberra and would like to ask what the place is like form your perspective ? We see it is cold and that's about all we know part from bits of into on the Internet which don't really help. I've got a wife and daughter of 19 which make a interstate move even more difficult as she is quite attached to her mates.

Depending on how it goes in my interview next week, I might bring my wife and daughter for a weekend to scout the place before we finally decide, always good.

Any info on the place and how it is to live there would be good, positive or negative. Average house price I see it around 500 K I see ? You can flick me a e-mail on mpr36935@bigpond.net.au if that easier.

Cheers vir eers

Marius Pretorius

[Johan Swanepoel]

Hi Marius

Unfortunately I cannot help you with Canberra information, but I am in the same boat about moving to Canberra. So hopefully you will get some good information here that I can use as well. We are moving from Sydney early August.

Sterkte met die die onderhoud.

Groete

Johan

[interest]

Hi there. I have a few business trips to canberra quite regularly. And we have an offi ce there. My impressions:

It is more of a town than a city. It is spread out and organised. There are more sporting facilities per person than anywhere else as far as I can see. There are a few good uni's. Its 2 hrs from the sea, but the surroundings have quite a few trails and bushwalks. There are lots of museums and so on for kids. There is quite a bit of cultural activity - music, theatre, and so on.

Property is quite expensive (recently) and on the border with NSW is Queyanbeyan, a suburb which seems to be less affluent, but is more affordable, and has commuting buses and so on.

There are many government departments, clearly, and a number of large corporates in town who service them (defense, aerospace, technology). It seems to be quite a closed shop, but if you are in operation, you will naturally get to know all the locals as a consequence.

There are far less congestion issues - 30-40 mins from one side of Canberra to the other.

There is scope to stay on a farm / smallholding close to Canberra, for a tree-change.

IT is COLD in winter (-6) and HOT is summer (35-38?). But sunny and quite liveable - reminds me of the highveld, and of the orangefreestate kind of temps.

So the only downsides I can see is you are not in a large city. And it may not be as fashionable as other capital cities. And you may not be at the sea. But for lifestyle, families, or a slow-down, its a pretty good proposition I think. You could do a lot worse. Especially if you are tired of congestion, and your career is linked to state expenditure in some way ...

Bus is $30 to Sydney, 3hrs, and is reliable.

Good luck with your prospects!

[MrsMupersan]

Hi Marius

Exciting times for you - I'll keep my fingers crossed for your interview.

We've been in Oz since Feb 2008 and have lived in Sydney and Brisbane. We moved to Canberra in November last year. And LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It's a beautiful city. It's not a city in the same sense as Brisbane or Sydney - there are no skyscrapers. Traffic is non-existant compared to either Brissie or Sydney. If you love outdoor living, there are more parks and recreation areas than you'll get to visit in a year. You can pretty much get anywhere in Canberra on a cycle path.

Winter is cold but there are these absolutely perfect cloudless, sunny days where being outside is so amazing. Summer is beautiful. Autumn is spectacular and I'm so looking forward to spring.

We just love the chilled out pace here.

There are some posts on my blog with plenty of pics:

http://mupersan.blogspot.com/2010/11/whole-new-adventure-begins.html

http://mupersan.blogspot.com/2010/12/exploring-canberra-on-my-new-bicycle.html

http://mupersan.blogspot.com/2011/01/moms-canberra-holiday.html

http://mupersan.blogspot.com/2011/01/dearnas-canberra-visit.html

Hope this is mildly helpful.

[Marius]

Thanks to all that replied so far, very good information for us. I look forward to more input as people read the post, but so far it looks or sounds like a nice place. I will be there Monday to see a bit for myself before the big decide and possibly another look with the rest of the family.

PS: I also fixed up the typos in my original post....Im a 6 foot 4 Dutchman with wors for fingers... thats my excuse anyway :-)

Thanks again for the info

Lekker dag,

Marius

[MrsMupersan]

PS: I also fixed up the typos in my original post....Im a 6 foot 4 Dutchman with wors for fingers... thats my excuse anyway :-)

Now that was a good belly laugh! Haven't heard a description like that in years! Classic!

Well, if you're coming up with the family on the last weekend of July, you'd be more than welcome to join us at the Canberra Coffee Club. We'll be hooking up at 9.30am on Sunday, 31 July at Kingston Grind, Kingston (edit: Robbo's isn't open on a Sunday). It'd be a great opportunity to meet other Canberrans and find out first hand about suburbs and the like.

I do the travel booking for work and I usually recommend people stay at the Kingston Terrace Apartments. Centrally situated in Kingston, it's a great place from which to do a bit of exploring. Within walking distance of the Kingston shops, cafe's and restaurants. http://kingstonterrace.com.au/

[Cramer]

Canberra is Great! Thats all

[Ninaricci46]

Hi julle ouens. Hier is solank nuus. Groetnis. Gaan klim op Facebook op Afrikaans in Canberra dan chat ons met julle!!

I’m not sure if you have any of this information, but here is some information for you guys (see below).

Not sure if you guys have booked your flights, but if not you must go through IOM, there prices are good and you get to take double the amount of luggage (people usually only get 20kg per person, but when you go with IOM you get 40kg each – and yes you can take more than one bag, just don’t make any of the bags heavier than 30 as that is the limit the luggage bearers are allowed to handle). You also get to take 7kg hand luggage. Here is a link: http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp

You said you’re looking for a rented place. We wanted a furnished place near the city centre which is exactly what we got, although it is very expensive, it may be worth your while for a couple of days until you can find something in an area of your choice. The place we are is in Argyle Square which takes up a block of Allambee Street (we’re apartment 23 of 3 Allambee st) and Ainslie Avenue – literally a block and a half away from the big civic mall (Canberra Furnished Accommodation – www.canberrafurnished.com.au / info@canberrafurnished.com.au - we have been staying here from 26 Feb-1 April and it cost us the equivalent of R32 000 – about $900 p/w so you can see it is very pricy, if you can rather find something else near amenities you can rather save your money for a car etc). You can walk everywhere from our place and it is near the bus stop. It is also right by the banks, medicare ( www.ato.gov.au ) and tax office, all of which you will have to apply with as soon as you arrive.

There are several sites for property (rent and buy) some include: http://www.realestate.com.au/ www.aussiehome.com www.property.com.au www.realtyonline.com.au

I went on one today: www.allhomes.com.au This is really impressive, the prices seem lower and there also seems to be more homes registered with them. Looking today, I saw a 3 bed furnished place in Belconnen – a good suburb (Bruce) where the rent was dirt cheap ($210-$245 p/w) here is the link: http://www.allhomes.com.au/ah/ah0079?rlid=167255034

Some info on the suburbs:

The relaxed pace of Canberra life has a lot to do with the fact that most people live within 20 minutes of the city centre.

Outside of the city centre, Canberra is planned around a series of town centres - Woden,Tuggeranong, Belconnen and Gungahlin. Each has its own group of satellite suburbs and comes complete with a major shopping centre, schools and community facilities. There are also smaller suburban shopping centres and local schools.

No matter which area you choose, commuting times to the city are short. The town centres are also employment hubs, with many government and private sector enterprises offering job opportunities virtually on your doorstep.

Woden is a few kilometres south of the city, with a mix of established and new houses and apartments. It’s close to Canberra Hospital and the town centre has a thriving commercial precinct, licensed clubs and a variety of recreational facilities.

A little further south, Tuggeranong is ideal for families with a mix of affordable new and established housing, including large blocks and lots of open space.

Belconnen offers freestanding homes and apartment options and has an education and sporting focus, with the University of Canberra, Canberra Institute of Technology, the Australian Institute of Sport and Canberra Stadium. You’ll also find fresh food markets, great shopping and Calvary Hospital.

Gungahlin, in the north, is Canberra’s newest area with lots of young families. You can buy land, house and land packages or finished homes and townhouses.

For comprehensive information about schools in Canberra, visit the website of the ACT Department of Education and Training. The Catholic Education Office and the Association of Independent Schools of the ACT can also give you more information about non-government schools in the ACT.

For jobs, there are a couple of sites: http://www.seek.com.au/ http://www.marketu.com.au/links.php

There is a nice magazine for South Africans in Australia (although based in Queensland, it still has interesting info – you can download past copies on their site) : http://www.sabona.com.au/

Some of the shops are: http://www.coles.com.au/ http://www.woolworths.com.au/ http://www.aldi.com.au/ (this is a nice cheap one) – there is also Superbarn, a favourite among the Australians ( it is the equivalent of a Pick ‘n Pay Supermarket in SA). There is also big W, this is an equivalent

Let me know if you want to know anything else – just ask! Oh yes, another thing you’ll find is that Canberrians are VERY friendly people, so don’t be shy to ask

Until later then… no worries mate!

[Deon-Louise and kids]

All I can say is Canberra is a wonderful place! Make sure if you make the move to Canberra join the " Live in Canberra"program It is a great oppurtunity to see the highpoints of Canberra and to get to meet others who have made the move both from overseas and interstate.

Good Luck with your decision. Louise

[Marius]

Hello all,

After being in Canberra Monday and visiting the potential employer I went away with a big decision to make. After long and hard consideration balancing the financial benefit versus the impact of moving state, long term future outlook and all other practical factors I made the decision not to relocate to Canberra. It was a difficult decision but the best one at this point in time for me and my family.

Thanks for all the good advice, info and messages, this forum is always a great place to turn for help. For now, I remain a Adelaidian.

Thanks again for all the info and help

Marius