Living in Canberra A.C.T.

CANBERRA

Canberra is in the Australian Capital Territory and is the Capital of Australia with a population of approximately 340,000 people and is the largest inland city. As the seat of the Australian Government, Canberra has the House of Parliament as well as the High Court. Canberra is also the home of virtually all Government Departments including, all the Defence Forces, as well as the Australian War Museum, National Museum, National Art Gallery, as well as foreign countries Embassies.

Temperatures in Canberra vary in winter from a minimum -4 to a maximum 11 degrees Celsius and in summer from a minimum 13 to a maximum 28 degrees Celsius, with snow during winter months and the ski fields within a couple of hours drive. The average age of Canberrans is 32, well educated, with significant migration from Germany, Italy, Vietnam, China, Greece and Croatia.

Centrally situated between Sydney and Melbourne, the majority of employment is within the public sector and it has unemployment of about 2.8%, compared with the National average 4.8%. The average wage is $1,200.00 per week and the median house price is approximately $435,000 which is lower than Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.

The Education system has Public (Government run) and Private (Fees paid by parents) schools. There are a large number of Child Care facilities (0-5yrs), Pre-school (4-5yrs), some Pre-Prep (4-5yrs) and then years 1-12. There are two main tertiary institutions which Aare the ANU, Australian National University and the UC, University of Canberra.

Sports are too numerous to mention, but include Cricket, Soccer, Rugby (both codes), AFL (similar to  Gallic football), Swimming, Surfing, Sailing, Tennis, Horse Racing, Harness Racing, Basketball  and  Netball.