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| *Travel Tips>>>Canberra Travel Tips |
A humble query to Canberra area resident/s...could you help w/ info? |
Travel Info Wife and I have Au. residency visa, but plan on coming later this year. In answer to a related question some weeks ago, one very nice participant recently suggested Canberra on account of low pop. and crime stats, as well as lifestyle. Other than Perth, which we visited briefly, we are utterly clueless about the country as a whole. We are concentrating on Canberra suburbs, or nearby med size city. The best example of what we're after is Christchurch NZ, in terms of public transport, well supplied food stores, and shopping. Well, we DO like to eat. And yes, shop. Sigh...my wife, anyway. We plan on spending a period of no less than three months in the area which any kind heart may want to suggest to us. Here too, I suppose we would greatly appreciate some guidance. By this I mean that we will be seeking a better quality apartment which can be rented for said period. A warm thank you in advance. Thad. My real name -anagramed- is e-trade moon train. Bizarre, no ? Travel Tips Hiya e-trade moon train, I am not from Canberra but have been living here on and off for about 6 years now and I have to say it's not all bad. I've lived in a few other capital cities and remote locations too so I have a bit of perspective on this, unfortunately some people from the larger cities in Oz tend to have a pretty poor opinion of anywhere that isn't Sydney or Melbourne. I generally hold the opinion that there are no truly boring places only boring people. Canberra will be as great as you can make it. Canberra is relatively small, and is fairly cold in winter (we occasionally get snow on the surrounding hills though not really enough to collect on the ground) but if you like NZ this shouldn't bother you too much. It is low rise and has heaps of green spaces throughout making it quite a pleasant, clean and picturesque city and I personally haven't found it lacking in any modern city conveniences yet but I guess it depends on how well supplied the shopping centres need to be be to support your wife's uh...habit. I find it fairly relaxed and friendly - definitely not as cut throat as the bigger cities, although if the need for a big city experience hits you remember Sydney is only 3 hours away by car, Melbourne only about 10hrs away and much less by plane. (The beach and snow fields are also only a few hours away so Canberra is pretty conveniently located). Most of the residents seem to be either public servants or uni students so the population is fairly young on average so there is a reasonable amount of local entertainment and if you're a sporty person then Canberra's great as i've found that several of our nations top athletes tend to live or train here and compete in local events, the population seems to be quite active in general though. It's also our nations Capital so it is home to many historically important and unique national galleries, museums and memorials and of course both the old and new parliament houses (and I would also point out that many of the politicians other respondents have described including our prime minister don't actually live here). Best of luck with your move anyway no matter where you decide to go! Hope this helps you a bit, Cheers :o) Others You're going to have to wait until Monday for a reply mate, Canberra is closed on the weekend as all the Pollies have gone home. By the way, not sure why you're looking at Canberra. There are other big towns near cities, e.g. Geelong near Melbourne or Newcastle or Gosford near Sydney. Or for better weather (in winter) try some of the towns on the Sunshine coast near Brisbane. Or, as you've been to Perth, try Fremantle....that's a nice place. Canberra is dull and very, very cold in winter. Canberra is very very dull (and the city is not a very nice place really). If you're looking for a place crawling with Politicians, sex shops and students then Canberra.... but rental properties are overpriced and there's no ocean for 3 hours (by car, but still!). You can do a lot better than Canberra... Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney.... pretty much any of these places would be better. Never been to Perth, but I've heard it's nice. Very far from the rest of Australia, but I'd be willing to bet it's still better than Canberra. Sorry to be such a downer, but I lived there for 5 years! You mentioned you would like to live in an area somewhat similar to Christchurch, NZ. Temperature wise, Tasmania, Victoria or the ACT fit the bill. Anywhere North will get a lot warmer. Brisbane is very hot in summer. Hobart or the Geelong area would probably suit you. Try googling these areas, I am from near Sydney so not much help. Hopefully you can find a 3 month lease, from experience that would be a holiday flat though as private rental is usually for 6 months minimum. Best wishes and if I come across any further information I will get back to you. A Quick note. I lived there for 24 years and loved it. And its only a bit over an hour to the coast. not 3 |
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