Moving out advice (Canberra)

starwars_guy456 · 24 September 2009

Hello all,

I've got a Graduate position at one of the government departments in Canberra next year, which requires me to move out of home (Melbourne).

I was hoping for some advice on tips/tricks/pitfalls of moving out, renting and other aspects of sharing a house with others. Basically - what hidden costs are there, what makes the best housemates, best method of getting along with others, and anything else you can think of! Keep in mind that I have an introverted personality until I make friends and become more comfortable. What suburbs should I be looking for at a budget of say... $250/pw?

And if some of you have lived in Canberra before, feel free to share your thoughts on the place, thanks!

Regards,
Edwin

adobee · 24 September 2009

I have heard "Fishwick" is a top area in Canberra to live.. I would check it out.. apparently heaps of fireworks and pr0n !!

Tip for moving out - Get a two bedroom and sublet the second room to a super hot girl with super hot friends !!!

Glen48 · 24 September 2009

Put every thing into boxs from hire companies, take drawers out of cupboards and shift cupboards slide draws back in so will have every thing were is was. Hire a truck with a Hydraulic tail gate to life every thing up and down, can drive on a car licence. stay single put mirrors on the ceiling and the Vid Camera in the one way glass built in.

wayneL · 24 September 2009

Take a few spare sense of humours with you and hand them around.

Julia · 24 September 2009

Have it clearly defined as to who pays for what. Nothing will sour a house sharing relationship more quickly than bad feelings about money.
Have a frank discussion about what's acceptable behaviour and what is not.
Best to have this clear from the start.
Good luck and congratulations on your new job. Hope all goes very well.

GumbyLearner · 24 September 2009

starwars_guy456 said:
Hello all,

I've got a Graduate position at one of the government departments in Canberra next year, which requires me to move out of home (Melbourne).

I was hoping for some advice on tips/tricks/pitfalls of moving out, renting and other aspects of sharing a house with others. Basically - what hidden costs are there, what makes the best housemates, best method of getting along with others, and anything else you can think of! Keep in mind that I have an introverted personality until I make friends and become more comfortable. What suburbs should I be looking for at a budget of say... $250/pw?

And if some of you have lived in Canberra before, feel free to share your thoughts on the place, thanks!

Regards,
Edwin

Been there a few times.

Buy a book case and a fast micro-processor.

Boring as bat **** place.

Of course do your best and good luck!

Robb · 24 September 2009

starwars_guy456 said:
Hello all,
Keep in mind that I have an introverted personality until I make friends and become more comfortable. What suburbs should I be looking for at a budget of say... $250/pw?

And if some of you have lived in Canberra before, feel free to share your thoughts on the place, thanks!

Regards,
Edwin

Congrats on the grad position! Which department if you dont mind me asking? I applied at Treasury but wasnt successfull but haven't finished from my second degree anyway.. and have a cushy job in the Public service already
Good luck finding a place for that much.. unless thats what you want to pay for a room? You'd be lucky to find a place to live by yourself for that much a week. I guess if you were wanting to rent for that amount you could try Queanbeyan. Or maybe some of the dodgy old unit blocks that are around. www.allhomes.com.au is where you want to look!
The rental market in canberra is very competitive, one of the reasons why I'm still living with my parents i suppose after moving out and back in a few times.

I have lived in canberra all my life. The place isn't that bad... there are no more fireworks available in Canberra as of last month. Obviously not as exciting as Melbourne. If you're into mountain biking its great though!

chode84 · 24 September 2009

Have a frank discussion about what's acceptable behaviour and what is not.

Moving out of home for the first time? There is no such thing as unacceptable behavior, bar sexual harassment.

Solly · 24 September 2009

Edwin,

A few general tips on sharing.

Never get caught drinking milk out of the carton.

Avoid cleaning, cite an imaginary back or ligament injury. You know a persistent injury you are carrying from a scum collapse in a high school football game always carries weight.

Never admit that it was you who left the toilet seat up. Blame a housemate's visiting friend even if they are female.

Never leave contraceptive devices or unwashed bedroom aids in communal spaces.

Never admit that you can pick locks.

Always check twice after you flush.

Toenail clippings in the bathroom are never yours.

Leave it at least a week before you bring up the suggestion of a communal strip poker evening. (ensure that you aren't in a all male share)

Hide your food, mark anything that is tasty or expensive as vegan or vegetarian.

If you share a plasma and DVD, it's ok to watch "Porky's" when others are asleep but sure to turn the volume down during the Kim Cattral "Lassie" scenes.

If you are introverted and sensitive remember be careful with the people you meet and bring home. But not all women you meet in bottleshops in Kingston are meth addicted and pole dancers.

Always bleach the cache and browsing history on a shared computer. If the pops up for adult sites wont go away blame it on a Trojan and a misconfigured firewall.

If a housemate's inebriated girlfriend accidentally goes into the wrong room and climbs into your bed. Lie motionless til morning and resist the tempation to post the pictures on Facebook.

Avoid sharing with Drummers and Obeo players.

If you get bored in Canberra, you can always spend the evening looking for all the Prime numbers in your A.G.S staff number.

Hope this helps a little.

GumbyLearner · 25 September 2009

Solly said:
If you are introverted and sensitive remember be careful with the people you meet and bring home. But not all women you meet in bottleshops in Kingston are meth addicted and pole dancers.

Heaven forbid ! ROTFLMAO

ROE · 25 September 2009

starwars_guy456 said:
Hello all,

I've got a Graduate position at one of the government departments in Canberra next year, which requires me to move out of home (Melbourne).

I was hoping for some advice on tips/tricks/pitfalls of moving out, renting and other aspects of sharing a house with others. Basically - what hidden costs are there, what makes the best housemates, best method of getting along with others, and anything else you can think of! Keep in mind that I have an introverted personality until I make friends and become more comfortable. What suburbs should I be looking for at a budget of say... $250/pw?

And if some of you have lived in Canberra before, feel free to share your thoughts on the place, thanks!

Regards,
Edwin

Depend where you work..Canberra divided into sections they called town
you got

Woden, Belconnen, Tuggeranong, Gungahlin (no office) and the City

Woden: Centrelink IT, Veterans Affair
Belconnen: Immigation head office, ABS head office a bit of ATO
Tuggeranong: Centrelink head office
City: ATO head office, Customs Head Office

Defense spread all over Canberra but the big one is in a suburb called Campbell near the City

so rent close to where you work and you can walk or catch the bus there.

Rent aren't cheap and vacancy is low, Canberra top the nation in Average income so that maybe the reason....but I don't know the going rate as I dont rent...if you can find someone to share with then it's a better choice.

check this site out for all Canberra related housing.

http://www.allhomes.com.au/ah/ah0058?regid=1000&lstype=res&order=dis
and for more info
http://www.liveincanberra.com.au/

Road and traffics are top so you will never have traffics issues except for 10-15 minutes delay in real bad peak time or accident.

Depend on your life style if you are an out door person
Lot of park and bush land and the 3 lakes will keep you fit and busy

I'm an outdoor person so Canberra is the perfect place for me..
kayak and fishing on the lake, Bush walking is a few minutes out side your door.

good luck with your new Job and hope you will do well

starwars_guy456 · 26 September 2009

Oooh, so many answers, thanks for the advice everybody! Keep em rolling if you've got any more. Sense of humour will always be there, in some capacity or other.

Adobee: Found a housemate already, an acquaintance from uni. Her and I are good friends, not "best friends", so there's no chance of any permanent damage to the friendship i guess. She's thinking of another housemate to share with. RE: Fyshwick eh? Will be looking for inner north/north as housemate will be working in Belconnen with ABS, I [assume] I'll be in Civic with DEEWR.

Glen48: Errr, I'm not that handy with all the heavy stuff. Lucky for me the department will be paying for relocation!

Julia: Love that advice, will definitely be having a frank discussion with potential housemates. Thanks for the well wishes too.

Gumby: Yep, a good computer with fast net connection is a definite must. Since Canberra is so good for the outdoors, might take this chance to get fit(ter) too. Hopefully there'll be a tennis club near my home.

Robb: Yes, thinking of sharing a house, can't really justify the cost of living alone at this stage. I'll be at DEEWR, hopefully it'll be fun and I get to learn new skills. I did hear about the rental market - thinking of moving up in early January for a February start to the program. Pity about the fireworks, I had wonderful memories of playing with fireworks as a kid growing up in Malaysia. Hope you don't mind me asking more questions since you're a Canberra native.

Solly: Errr, *chuckles*. Sounds like you have the "living with FEMALE housemates" routine down pat. Yeah, better get started learning how to pick locks eh?

ROE: Yep, sounds like a whole new ball game for me. I guess I'll only know where to look for a home once my rotations have been assigned. I heard the busses up and down Northbourne Ave are quite frequent, can you confirm?

Also, housemate may want a labrador puppy if she loves Canberra. I assume I'll need a backyard for that. How do real estate agents treat this issue?

Once again, thanks for any advice given so far.

-Edwin

MRC & Co · 27 September 2009

Canberra is a brilliant City.

Far easier to be sociable when the roads are great, traffic minimal (except peak hours) and many sporting, art, availibility. I would move back there in a flash if I could do so for work.

adobee · 29 September 2009

starwars_guy456 said:
Oooh, so many answers, thanks for the advice everybody! Keep em rolling if you've got any more. Sense of humour will always be there, in some capacity or other.

Adobee: Found a housemate already, an acquaintance from uni. Her and I are good friends, not "best friends", so there's no chance of any permanent damage to the friendship i guess. She's thinking of another housemate to share with. RE: Fyshwick eh? Will be looking for inner north/north as housemate will be working in Belconnen with ABS, I [assume] I'll be in Civic with DEEWR.

Glen48: Errr, I'm not that handy with all the heavy stuff. Lucky for me the department will be paying for relocation!

Julia: Love that advice, will definitely be having a frank discussion with potential housemates. Thanks for the well wishes too.

Gumby: Yep, a good computer with fast net connection is a definite must. Since Canberra is so good for the outdoors, might take this chance to get fit(ter) too. Hopefully there'll be a tennis club near my home.

Robb: Yes, thinking of sharing a house, can't really justify the cost of living alone at this stage. I'll be at DEEWR, hopefully it'll be fun and I get to learn new skills. I did hear about the rental market - thinking of moving up in early January for a February start to the program. Pity about the fireworks, I had wonderful memories of playing with fireworks as a kid growing up in Malaysia. Hope you don't mind me asking more questions since you're a Canberra native.

Solly: Errr, *chuckles*. Sounds like you have the "living with FEMALE housemates" routine down pat. Yeah, better get started learning how to pick locks eh?

ROE: Yep, sounds like a whole new ball game for me. I guess I'll only know where to look for a home once my rotations have been assigned. I heard the busses up and down Northbourne Ave are quite frequent, can you confirm?

Also, housemate may want a labrador puppy if she loves Canberra. I assume I'll need a backyard for that. How do real estate agents treat this issue?

Once again, thanks for any advice given so far.

-Edwin

You will need to make some fake references for the dog and training school certificates.. this will help with the agents.. or secondly just dont tell them..

Naked shorts · 3 October 2009

MRC & Co said:
I would move back there in a flash if I could do so for work.

Come on old boy, aren't you swinging 10,000 lots yet?! they should be letting you live where you want :

Moving out advice (Canberra)

starwars_guy456

adobee

Glen48

Money can't buy Poverty

wayneL

VIVA LA LIBERTAD, CARAJO!

Julia

In Memoriam

GumbyLearner

Robb

chode84

Solly

GumbyLearner

ROE

starwars_guy456

MRC & Co

adobee

Naked shorts

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