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| *Travel Tips>>>Canberra Travel Tips |
My family is moving to Canberra soon and we wonder if there are any suburbs better for children and schools? |
Travel Info We don't know anything about the city, the "good" or "bad" suburbs, (we prefer a quiet and family area not far from Yarralumla), the educational system (which school is better, the way they work, if expensive suburbs have better schools, is the public school good enough?, do they have supporting programs for no english speakers children?), how many taxes I must pay when buying a car, all the help you can send will be appreciated Travel Tips Compared to other cities in Australia, generally speaking all of Canberra is nice. Because its the Federal Capital, and because there is unlimited money to be spent on the city (at the expense of the rest of the country), Canberra is a showpiece of a city. Wide roads with hardly any cars on them, grand public buildings everywhere in the centre, and a massive security force to protect these buildings and the Canberrans from harm are just a few of the ways in which vast amounts of tax dollars from all over Australia are spent on the place. A friend of mine who lived there for several years told me Yarralumla and Ainslie are two upmarket suburbs. But to me, even places like Belconnen, which are very suburban, and Tuggeranong, which is supposed to be where the 'young families' live, look like very pleasant places to live, and are probably better than most places in the country. As for schools, Canberra's schools used to be the best in Australia, once again thanks to massive amounts of tax dollars from all over the country being poured into them. Why spend money on the rest of Australia when Canberra can have everything? (Call me cynical, but when you drive around Canberra all I see is my tax money being spent everywhere, and not on where I lived and worked in Sydney.) I don't know what the ACT school system is like now, but I bet its better than other states .. eg. NSW, VIC or QLD. I don't think you have any worries about living in what could be the most subsidized city on earth. Others Any of the suburbs in the Yarralumla area will suffice for a quiet family life - Deakin, Yarralumla itself, Curtin. The Weston Creek area adjoins with suburbs Weston, Waramanga and Stirling all pretty good. The Woden Valley is also very close and has suburbs Hughes, Lyons, Garran and Chifley which have pretty nice areas too. Be aware that if you're renting, the rental market is *very* tight, and there's a nasty feature of "rent auctions" developing whereby an owner asks for a specific rent, then a renter will come in and offer more (sometimes much more), just to secure the property. :-( We've found the public education system pretty good, but if you have special language needs it would be best to 'shop around" to find one for you. The government has released plans to close a number of very small schools all over Canberra - double check before you make any decisions! I have no knowledge of the private school sector, although there a number of them here. Cars cost more to register in the ACT than in most other states, and you have no choice at all about which third party personal insurer you can use - it's the NRMA. Our car costs about $650 per year for rego, stamp duty and third party personal insurance. All major Australian insurers will cover theft/damage insurance in teh ACT, and it doesn't appear to be any more expensive than anywhere else. Petrol seems to be about 7-10c a litre more expensive than Sydney, and is cheapest on mondays and Tuesdays. Every second Thursday is public service payday, and the price goes up then, so don't wait till then to buy! For families Canberra is pretty good. There's good shopping, movies, museums and galleries, lots of sporting events and clubs. Make a few friends and you'll have a great time. And if you want to get away, the mountains and the coast are only a few hours away. Sydney's about 3-4 hours by car, depending on where you're going. The roads are wide, with comparatively little traffic compared to Sydney or Melbourne or Brisbane - it only takes 20-25 minutes at the most to get across most of Canberra outside peak hours, and at absolute worst 40 mins during peak hours. It gets very hot in summer (up to 40 degrees Celcius high), and cold and grey in winter (down to 0 degrees Celcius low in the day), so be prepared. And bring a bicycle - we've got the best cycle path network in the country :-) Suggest you look at the "Canberra Connect" website for details on taxes and charges. There are essentially no "bad" suburbs in Canberra but some are more desirable than others. Yarralumla is good, nearby suburbs would be Curtin on one side and maybe Deakin on the other side of the Yarra Glen road. Take a look at a suburban map - Weston Creek is not too far from Yarralumla as well. Most housing in Yarralumla would be 40 - 50 years old, Curtin and Weston Ck.not quite so old. Novar St will not be quiet, btw. Your best bet is to find a suburb near your work and walk or cycle if possible because parking is getting tight in some areas. Be warned, there is a housing shortage at the moment and there are stories of auctions for rent. Schools I can't comment - though some primary schools are set to close. So if you are selecting a house because it is close to a particular primary school, find out from the ACT government (not the estate agent) whether the school is to close soon. |
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