Moving to Canberra

Any tips on living in Canberra?

February 2003

We are moving to Canberra to work at the National University there and I would like to have some information on resources to help us find a house to rent and a school for our first grader. Which is a good neighborhood for a family? Are there any bilingual schools (our daughter attends a Spanish-English bilingual program here)? Are there any groups like the UCparents that provide information or referrals? Any tips will be appreciated!

I lived in Sydney for many years and went to Canberra frequently. I think the nicest suburb was Manuka (pronounced Monica). Although Sydneysiders looked upon Canberra the way Bay Area people look upon Sacramento, you probably won't feel that way. It is a lovely small city with excellent museums funded by the govt (similar to the Smithsonian). The equivalent to the Capitol (the name escapes me) has a lovely lobby area and great artwork on the walls - especially the aboriginal art work. There is a wildlife reserve nearby called Tidbinbilla that has koalas in the wild, which means they are up very high in the eucalyptus trees - not at eye level as in zoos. Of course, alot of this may be different, as there were serious bush fires in Canberra only a few weeks ago. Sharon