Would you move to Canberra?

I think Canberra would be perfect for you except for access to medical and allied health services. It has gotten worse the last few years.

I had good experiences with maternity care and early childhood services but access to things like speech therapy, psychologists and psychiatrists is terrible.

We had a dental problem with my DS last week and the paediatric dentist he is booked into for extraction couldn’t fit him in earlier and our normal suburban dentist couldn’t see him either.

Actually wait lists for everything is the norm now - I heard the local bike repairer has a 2 month wait for bike services and getting a tradesperson in has been impossible since a hailstorm 18 months ago. My nothing special hairdresser is impossible to get into.

I am so glad we moved to Canberra!

Schools are (generally) very good, the lifestyle is fab. Little stressful commuting...

You will definitely need a car though, public transport is not great.

It is a relatively small city with all the extra perks of the National Capital, like world class galleries and museums. And lots of great outdoor spaces. Get a bike. And hiking boots, the Brindabella are marvellous.

Absolutely. DH and I have spoken about it many times over the years.

DH and I had considered it off and on over the years. But for our kind of work, we'd need fed clearances to do similar in Canberra and they're time-consuming and not always possible to obtain without employer sponsorship. If I could transfer there, I'd have a chance but we wouldn't both resign and sell without a job to go to.

I think one of the reasons I am drawn to Canberra is because it reminds me a lot of Christchurch - it actually has 4 proper seasons, it is small enough to get around yet big enough to have interesting things to go to. I think it would be a wonderful place to raise a young family.

I think one of the reasons I am drawn to Canberra is because it reminds me a lot of Christchurch - it actually has 4 proper seasons, it is small enough to get around yet big enough to have interesting things to go to. I think it would be a wonderful place to raise a young family.

I literally was going to pipe in and say this!

I haven't been to Adelaide or Darwin, but apart from that Canberra is one of my favourite cities in Oz. Lovely place

I think one of the reasons I am drawn to Canberra is because it reminds me a lot of Christchurch - it actually has 4 proper seasons, it is small enough to get around yet big enough to have interesting things to go to. I think it would be a wonderful place to raise a young family.

Ohhhh yeah? Good point, it does a bit! Maybe that's why I like it. Especially in autumn.

We don't have all those beautiful buildings though. One of my favourite things to do in Canberra in winter when I happen to be in the city is to pretend I'm in East Berlin and the Wall's just behind that brutalist monstrosity of a building over there.

. One of my favourite things to do in Canberra in winter when I happen to be in the city is to pretend I'm in East Berlin and the Wall's just behind that brutalist monstrosity of a building over there.

I'm not from Canberra and I've never even been there so I have nothing to add but this just made me :rofl:

. One of my favourite things to do in Canberra in winter when I happen to be in the city is to pretend I'm in East Berlin and the Wall's just behind that brutalist monstrosity of a building over there.

 

I'm not from Canberra and I've never even been there so I have nothing to add but this just made me :rofl:

I love brutalist buildings. Maybe I should move to Canberra.

I've lived in Canberra twice, once for five years when I was a child and then again from another 5-6 years after high school so pre-kids. Its a lovely place to live, very little traffic, much less hustle and bustle than other states so its perfect if you like the quieter life.

Housing is actually quite expensive on average because you can't go as far out as you can in NSW or Victoria, for example, to find the cheaper places. Plus so many Canberra residents are public servants on decent money so that bumps up the prices. So its probably harder to break into the property market. But comparing places closer to town in ACT vs closer to town in VIC or NSW, its probably still cheaper for an average house.

Public transport can be a pain, there's pretty much only buses and you often have to take one bus into town or one of the other hubs (like Woden or Belconnen) and then another bus out to your final destination so it can be very time consuming. Not sure if that has improved since we moved away though.

DH and I both loved living in Canberra and only moved away for DH's work plus my extended family are all in our new state so it would be tricky to move back now.

I love Canberra. Especially the cycle paths. I remember cycling everywhere when I visited a few times in my youth. DS plans to study at ANU so I can’t wait to go visit him & go cycling again.

I would be quite happy to live there permanently but I don’t think DH would be interested.

I love Canberra. Especially the cycle paths. I remember cycling everywhere when I visited a few times in my youth. DS plans to study at ANU so I can’t wait to go visit him & go cycling again.

I would be quite happy to live there permanently but I don’t think DH would be interested.

Highly recommend avoiding cycling at ANU in spring though https://m.facebook.com/watch/?v=2182297515388447&_rdr

Canberra is fantastic for kids and amazing for seeing wildlife. We get all types of birds in our backyard, including lorikeets, rosellas, wattlebirds and pardelotes, and see kangaroos in some of the nature reserves or paddocks on the drives home from school. Roos are often seen hanging about at Canberra uni. We've seen loads of water dragons at the Cotter river and also some tawny frogmouth birds.

Canberra also has an ostentation of feral peafowl wandering the streets of one of our burbs... https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6015877/why-are-there-peacocks-roaming-the-streets-of-canberra/

I’ve spent a lot of time in Canberra over the years, lovely for families a lot more relaxed than Sydney or Melbourne. Access to medical specialists and allied health difficult for the people i know, perhaps the odd trip to Sydney would be still on the cards.

My only advice is buy a house with a mortgage that is SIGNIFICANTLY less than your current one. It will be tempting to go ‘but look at what we can get for a bit extra’. Set the new home budget based on a reduction to ideally a single full time income, which between you you can easily earn, or at worst 9 days for your husband and 6 for you each fortnight. (I haven’t suggested this based on gender, it’s based on your desire to work less. If your dh has the same desire, reduce his work days as well. Maybe a total of 14 work days a f/night between you)

I say this as it’s only worth it to relocate IF your life changes and gives you more choices. It’s a huge disruptive move, which you may resent if you’re just as busy, just in a new location.

I say go for it, Canberra is truly lovely. Buy warm coats socks and boots for the family and you won’t notice the weather, it’s all blue skies. Sydney has become even more of a rat race, I love Sydney I’m from Sydney, but it’s just too expensive.

Canberra is amazing. The commute times will be so much less.

And if you are APS you'll have so many more opportunities in Canberra. Especially in the higher levels.

One of the cleanest cities I have seen. My brother lives there, he has been there for 2 decades and works in that brutalist building and whilst he loves most things he says it lacks diversity and verges on boring.

I have visited often, to see him and also on holidays with our children a few times as there is so much that is worthwhile for them. I also went on 5 school camps to Canberra. We always had a ball, and I loved being there never having a problem filling in time but then I am not sure if it would satisfy me fulltime.

Thanks all

He has decided my sister is no longer a deal breaker and has started applying for jobs. Unfortunately he won't move for less than an EL2 so it could take a while to land one, but I'll be scouring the aps jobs page and hoping for the best!