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Sat Feb 25, 2006 11:19 am  |
I´m seriously considering to ditch Scandinavia in favor of Australia. I might be able to do my masters degree at ANU is Canberra. So, I wonder if any of you could tell me about Australia: prices, housing, work (my SO if a chef) and daycare ( or school, my daughter will be around 4 at the time) and other useful info?
Everything is highly appreciated, even if it´s not specific to Canberra.
TIA!
Lene |
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Sat Feb 25, 2006 6:44 pm |
i went to canberra once on a roadtrip with my family and its a total dust bowl. i wouldn't recommend moving there. if i were to recommend you move anywhere it would be brisbane where i live 
it is the most up and coming city yet is by far the most friendly and beautiful and the climate is perfect.
sydney is dirty and smelly and tooooo overcrowded and racially divided. melbourne is really cold and dirty but not as bad as sydney.
perth is also nice i have heard, very similar to Brisbane, except that brisbane is a bit more on the cosmopolitan verge.
if you want to live inner city (as i do), it is very expensive and in the outer suburbs you will get more for your dollar and especially if you want ur daughter to have a backyard to play in.
hth! |
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early 20's, inflamed and red acne prone/sensitive/fair skin |
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Mabsy
Moderator
 
Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Posts: 9644
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Sat Feb 25, 2006 7:32 pm |
 I used to live in Canberra (now live in Brisbane) so let me just say that I would not move back there... It's too small and boring IMO. There is just nothing to do there!
But, anyway, house prices are the worst in Sydney. I'm not sure about Canberra but you can look at realestate.com.au and that will give you a good idea of prices as well as suburb profiles. In Brisbane, a small 3/4 bedroom house about 20 minutes drive from the city will cost you about $340,000 in an an average suburb. I can't comment on work for chefs, but can tell you by what I hear from people at work that getting kids into childcare is quite difficult, there are long waiting lists and it's also quite expensive.
It is a lovely country to live in though! Having been to quite a few of the cities, I love Brisbane and also Melbourne (apart from their crazy weather). Melbourne has the most European feel of all the Aussie cities I have been to so far.... |
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45, NW20, combination skin |
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Sun Feb 26, 2006 2:24 am |
Sharkbait
I live on the Sunshine Coast which is north of Brisbane and absolutely love the climate here however, coming from Scandinavia you may need time to acclimatise to the Queensland weather which is probably warmer than you are used to and humid on the coast.
I personally like to vist Canberra but not to live there - too cold for me.
You might find info on this site:
http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au
Best of luck |
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Skin: Over 60, ex combination now sensitive, Cellcosmet |
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Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:40 am |
Lene, good lord, if you go to live in Australia, don't live in Canberra.
(I sure hope we have no-one from Canberra here.... )
That would have to be the ... the... hickest, most boring, blah city/town I have ever visited in the world. The only reason it exists is because Sydney and Melbourne could not stop fighting over which one of them should become the national capital, so they built Canberra.
I reckon I have been to Canberra 2 or 3 times (granted, not in the last few years) and I have never in my life met any Australian who actually has LIKED the place.
I am very biased toward my home city Brisbane... Perth is supposed to be nice (it is a kind of love/hate city.. people either love it or hate it.)... Melbourne is great (and no, I am not going to go into Victorian jokes), but the weather is something horrid a lot of the time.
what kind of environment are you looking for? Do you want to keep a European feel? Do you want warmth,sunshine and beaches? A big city?
What kind of chef is your SO? (I mean like, speciality, cuisine, etc.).. Brisbane rents are substantially cheaper than Gold Coast... Melbourne has more restaurants than Hyde Park has pidgeons... Sydney will send you bankrupt unless you earn mega $$$ income... what kind of Masters are you going to do? There may be other universities members know of that hvae good post-grad degrees for your area.
why not just get a hut out in the bush and do your masters by external education?! |
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Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:34 am |
Oh my, not many votes for Canberra, then.
I´m not familiar with other Unis in Australia, and I´m really interested in the degree in conflicts studies at ANU sincethe degree is taught in collaberation with the Peace Research Institute here in Norway. But the city sounds well, boring, from your experiences. What to do, then.
My SO har worked as a head chef for a few very good "french cuisine" type restaurants, but I guess he could be flexible with regards to type of work. I don´t know when kids start school down there, it´s not untill they´re 6 here.
Thanks for your input everyone, I guess there´s a reason they advertise Canberra as "peaceful and virtually crime free". |
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Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:54 am |
yes, the criminals die of boredom.
Kids start school the year they turn 6 in general.. though depending on your birthday you might end up starting a year earlier. School year starts at the end of January. |
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Tue Feb 28, 2006 4:23 am |
Poor canberra. Feel bit sorry for it now. I went there last in 2004 and thought it was lovely. Would be good for kids anyway, it seems clean and because is was purpose-built has obviously been 'designed' is not mish-mash of roads like older cities. However I was only there for 2 nights!
There are other good unis- not sure if there is one website that lists them all. I am just finished my degree at Newcastle uni, which seems good too?
I love Sydney and Brisbane, Adelaide lovely also but smaller. Haven't yet been to Melbourne (except a quick visit to the airport) but have heard its nice? Am sure your SO could find work somewhere. Houses generally expensive in the inner cities.
Hope this helps a little too. Take care and good luck with the move. Would recommend you come over here- I had a Scandinavian friend over here for uni and she said the weather here would make it worth the move. Apparently.
Take care |
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