Canberra Australia
 

Anyone been to Canberra Australia lately? My son is considering graduate school down there for a two year program along with other schools around the world. Any thoughts or information would be greatly appreciated.Thanks!

Hello dutyfree, I hope NeilofOz sees this thread of yours as I am sure he would be a wealth of information.

My eldest son lives in Canberra. It is a good city for young people. With 3 Universities, there are a lot of young people.

Lots of good eating places and sporting activities. Not to mention great cultural events

I live in Canberra! Canberra is a relatively safe place to live, more so than in the bigger cities of Sydney or Melbourne. You could always use a car, but there is an extensive bike system to get around the city. It's also pretty small as well- people complain when it takes half an hour to get somewhere! There is also a fairly good bus system, but it's underappreciated by its main users (the people). For a city of its size there is a huge variety of exotic cuisine. Night life isn't that lively, but the South Coast and Sydney are only a few hours away.

Rental places can be scarce, especially during university months, so tr and find something early. Because Canberra is a government city, the majority of the inhabitants work in the bureaucracy. As such the average income is higher than in most parts of the country, and thus the standard of living is a bit high. Crime wise, it isn't bad, but at night it pays to stay near well lit areas- better safe than sorry. AFAIK many of the residential colleges for each university have a night bus system.

I hope that helps!

As your son presumably knows, the Australian National University in Canberra is very highly rated internationally - the top ranked Australian university and in last year's Times survey ranked 17th (between Stanford and McGill), making it the top ranked university outside North America and Britain. As mentioned, student accommodation is reportedly tight and although both on and off campus capacity is being increased your son would be advised to satisfy himself on that score before committing to a course here.

Although the city has the big city prices that go with high average incomes and the usual social problems, services are good, the air is clean and the well-informed locals are used to hosting international visitors (diplomats, bureaucrats, academics and students). Home to major national institutions and successful sporting teams, the city has plenty of cultural and outdoor activities (and beaches a couple of hours away are still a lot closer than in the US mid-west). Bike tracks and pleasant walking opportunities abound, but most of us in the 'burbs still find we need a car to get around.

As the capital and a planned city, Canberra is sometimes given bad press by assorted malcontents and political opportunists, but most of us who have moved here are glad we did (and selfishly don't want it to become too popular!).

Canberra's defining US midwest connection -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Burley_Griffin

Farrermog-interesting article on Walter Griffin especially since our family is from Chicago! Thanks everyone for your imput. Please keep any tips or info coming.

Thought I'd posted earlier, must have hit the wrong button or something.

dutyfree, following on from farrermog's post, has your son targeted a particular university? The other major campus in town is University of Canberra, which is in the Belconnen area, about 15-20 minutes (guessing) by bus from the city centre ("Civic").

More specific questions would improve the quality of the information you get here.

Sydney 2K, from what my kids tell me the night life for young people is actually pretty good - in particular the Uni Bar at the ANU is a popular venue. The arts are also in good shape here.

Actually most Canberrans don't work for the bureaucracy, but you're right that the city's average education level, supported by the public service, academia and the diplomatic community, make for a high average income. This, together with tourism, is what drives a busy arts, entertainment and dining scene. Canberra, with 350,000 people, is very much a middle-class community, with relatively few people at the rich and poor ends of the spectrum.

Canberra is surprisingly diverse, as the annual multicultural festival demonstrates. It's also well situated for many purposes, being about 3 hours' drive from Sydney and the Snowy Mountains and, as farrermog notes, only 2-3 hours from the beaches and fishing towns of the pristine New South Wales south coast.

G'day Dutyfree

Thank you for your question.

I graduated from the ANU and have lived in Canberra for 30 years. The ANU is within walking centre of town and the nightlife.

The ANU is rated as number 17 with arts and social sciences rated higher. It has a world top 50 rating in all fields.

http://www.topuniversities.com/unive...nal-university

The ANU is within walking distance of Civic (the CBD) so he can walk most places. There is also a good cycle network and a reasonable bus network. He can catch a bus to Sydney and its night life.

Canberra has high living standards and a top quality health system. Its climate is cold in the winter time by Australian standards. However, it is much warmer than a Chicago winter. The exchange rate is roughly $1 US being worth $1.10 Australian.

Regards

I did a 3-year postdoc at the ANU in the mid-80's. I'm sure it has changed somewhat since then, but will nonetheless add my comments. I look back at those days as some of the best - back before major responsibilities of home ownership and kids - being in a new exotic land and seeing all there was to see - making lots of new friends.

Those of us who were married and a had a car thought Canberra was wonderful. We loved the laid-back lifestyle. On weekends we typically somewhere - barbecues at the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, renting a house near Bateman's Bay on the coast with friends, hiking in the nearby Brindabella Ranges, Namadgi National Park, etc., visiting my wife's family in Sydney.

We had a number of single friends, mainly grad students from all over. I can't say all of them were totally happy in Canberra, then (and probably still) a very family-oriented city. There wasn't much in the way of night life then.

It is a beautiful, safe, moderate-sized city in a lovely location - mountain ranges to the south and west, snow-covered in winter. Being the federal capital, there are very interesting national institutions to visit, like Parliament, the War Memorial, the Australian Gallery of Art, the Supreme Court, the Australian Mint and the Australian Institute of Sport. I was impressed with the system of bike trails, quite independent of the road network. Canberra was designed with preservation of open space and the natural environment in mind, for example, the Black Mountain reserve right near the city center. There are superb lookouts over the city at Black Mt (Telstra Tower), Mt Ainslie, and Red Hill.

Being from New England, I never found the Canberra winters that bad at all. In the time I was there we had snow accumulation just once - just one inch, but people were out taking pictures of that rare event. Summers could be very hot, mostly a dry heat. Bushfires were common.

As an American that lived in Canberra for a few years in the '00's, here's my perspective--Canberra is a great city to live in. Although your son won't have a car there, I'm sure he will make many friends that do have cars which will make it easy for him to get to the beach (2 hours), mountains (2 hours) and Sydney (3 hours). Closer to home, there is great hiking and camping at Namadgi National Park (30-40 minutes). And if he has any interest in museums and/or architecture, there's Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial, the National Gallery of Australia and the National Museum of Australia--all free, which helps on a student budget. We loved the years that we spent in Canberra.

Thanks everyone for your responses. It appears that UCL(University College of London) is where he is going to be going next fall which for a mom who can bid London layovers will be wonderful!