Migrating to Canberra

You would need to apply to immigrate. try this site for information www.immi.gov.au There is a list of preferred skills that the govt is seeking.
You would need a lot of money as Australia is not a cheap country to live in.
Medical insurance, transport, accommodation, living costs, school fees. check out www.numbeo.com for living costs.

You could try to find a job before you head over as employers would apply for work visas. check out www.seek.com.au  or just type 'IT jobs Australia' into your search engine.

Hi,

Thank you for the quick reply.

So if you find a company who is granting you a Working visa, do you still need to do the Immigration Documentation?

Yes, I can understand it is an expensive place to live, but I assume there are suburbs of Canberra where life would be more affordable.

I checked house prices and seems that 400.000 AUD you can get something around Canberra.

Thank you,

The company will get the appropriate visa. You would have to check with your potential employer as to whether they would include your daughter in the visa application.

Affordability is relative to your earnings.

Canberra is a govt city as it is the base for the Federal Govt, hence prices being a little high.

The median house price in Canberra was $700,000 in 2017. Was $564,000 in 2014.

House prices drop slightly the greater distance you are from the city centre. Latest prices for a distance of 13 klm or more is over $500,000. Anything cheap would need renovation work done on it.

Thank you very much for your replies. What about air quality in Canberra? Do you ever get dust storms? If so, are they often?
The main reason I would move out from Cyprus is the Dust storms on the Mediterranean basin, which are becoming more often nowadays, with the climate change. Except that, I would not have any reasons to quit the island. The quality of life is good here, we get plenty of free family time, the life is not so expensive (if you don't rent a property). We have the sea very close to where we live, we can spend time outside almost all year long (except the dusty days).

I think the last dust storm was in 2009 so not a regular occurrence. The ocean is a long way from Canberra.
There is the odd bush fire in the area. Air quality drops then but good on the whole. Snows in winter time around the region so cold.

Thanks. What about air conditioning? Is it used a lot in Australia?

Yes, A/C is used extensively in Australia because of the heat and humidity. Also note that electricity costs in Australia are amongst the highest in the world.

Oh, same is in Cyprus. During summer months AC is a must, we even sleep 2-3 months with it opened (it another room though). The problem with the AC is that it dries up the sinues, and creastes problems on a long term run, with the nose Thanks anyway for all the advices. Between Canberra and Melbourne, which would be a better place to live?

Both expensive but at least in Melbourne you have easier access to the sea. Even in Melbourne you would have to still use A/C, in fact anywhere in Australia.

you are receiving a lot of misinformation here. For example I have lived in Canberra for a very long time and only once in at least 50 years has there been any problem with a bushfire. Canberra has a very dry climate, unlike Melbourne where it rains most days. Refrigeration air conditioners don't work so well in Canberra as the air is already dry. Its air quality is far superior to that of any other capital city in Australia
Many Canberra homes will have evaporative cooling for the hot dry summers.
Canberra is about ninety minutes from the surf. You would be lucky to get anywhere in Melbourne that would be that close in time to surf. They only have  the bay (wouldn't class it as sea).
In fifty years it has snowed in Canberra twice. It has snowed more often in the Melbourne outer suburbs. Canberra does have low overnight temperatures in winter. But its winter days are usually sunny. Its daily temperature range is typically around 15 to 20 degrees. Canberra had a population of around 400,000 Melbourne's is around 3.5 million. But Canberra is only 2.5 hours by road from Sydney with a population of more than 5 million.

Thanks for this - it was super helpful. Everyone keeps telling me how cold Canberra is but the average historical forecasts don't seem to indicate that. It looks fairly temperate and dry - how lovely. I know Kiwi's and Aussies generally get along fine - besides the sibling rivalry n all, but how is the response to American expatriates living there in general? Both socially and in business circles? A recruiting professional in Auckland commented that Australians are not keen on dealing with foreigners in professional circles. My husband is in the IT specialty and will represent a Silicon Valley start-up. Love to get some insight on life in Canberra.

I’m an Aussie living in Glasgow. Moved here in 2016. I would like to add that Stumpy’s info was quite accurate but I can add some more detail. I lived in Canberra for 15 years and some of my family is still there so I get daily updates.

It is a lovely place to live. Air quality is good.  There are a lot of cars in use so living near a turn off in a major road will have more car pollution, especially from diesel cars. Living in the city you will have more NO2 pollution, actually one of the highest in Australia but it is overall a very clean city.

It does have temperature extremes between -10 with wind chill to over 40. It doesn’t rain very much so gets very hot and still and dry - which does result in lots of fires.  but the rural fire service works very hard and apart from the big fire in 2003 fires are managed and you shouldn’t need to worry if you don’t live on a big property surrounded by bush land. Fire is a common occurrence in Australia. Drought and flood (because the ground is so dry it can’t absorb heavy downpours) happen frequently. Canberra has some good electrical storms but overall the weather is a good mix.

It does get terribly hot and still for months in summer. Evaporative air conditioners do not work well enough. You need reverse cycle that chill you home. Without wind your home won’t cool down otherwise. Canberra is in a basin and without cooling down you can go crazy.

We used to keep our curtains closed and put tin foil on the windows to manage the heat. We went to the cinemas for good air-con and swimming to keep cool. Going to work was lovely too.

Winter is manageable. It does get very cold but only for about 2-3 months from mid April. Dress warmly and get a home with good insulation before you sign a rental agreement. You want energy efficient, preferably central heating.

Work is mostly government. To work in most roles you will need a security clearance and many tines not being an Australian citizen will prevent a clearance being granted. So you may not be able to get work with the government. Unless you have super amazing skills. They very rarely ever sponsor visas.

Many IT companies in Canberra have government contracts and you will not be able to work on them without a security clearance. You may find it very difficult getting a well paid job in Canberra before you have Australian citizenship.

It is a 3hr drive to Sydney or the coast where there is surf. After driving 1.5 hrs you will be in the snow fields, the country or half way down the mountain range heading for the coast.

Real estate is expensive to rent and buy. Expect the pay about £500 week for a cheaper 3 bed and upwards of £550,000 for a cheaper, 1hr commute from the city townhouse/apartment. Fuel is expensive and you will want to drive or you will be commuting 1.5hrs on a bus.

We lived in Garran a lot near the hospital and it was beautiful. 15 min drive or 30 min bus. 5 min walk to shop or 5 min drive to shopping centre.

Schooling can be great in Canberra. Lots of choice. Very multi cultural.  Govt employees must demonstrate high professional standards even outside of work so most people are polite to expats and new arrivals.

I would suggest you look at the cost of living and what your minimum income needs to be and whether one or both of you will be working.  Then can you get a job for that much in Canberra without it being a government job. Quite s challenge I would think. Lots of redundancies over the years do lots of experienced former public servants with former security clearances. Lots of competition for jobs.

More on Melbourne. Yes I agree lots more people, larger city and urban area and many options for living and work.
While I’ve only visited Melbourne I have friends who live it. More options for work without a security clearance/citizenship.

I know from moving to Scotland, getting good paying jobs is the number 1 priority. With cash flow and keeping expenses down number 2.  Well-being coming in a close number 3.

Sydney and Melbourne can be expensive places to live with lots of commuting.  I would find somebody through LinkedIn that works in the job of your dreams - search by company and then people - and ask them about living in Melbourne.

I lived extensively in Queensland when I wasn’t in Canberra. Gold Coast can be nice but finding IT work won’t necessarily be in a large company. Likely smaller business.

Brisbane is an IT hotspot. Perhaps consider the greater Brisbane area. It is hotter but similar to Mediterranean. I lived in Brisbane and Cairns as well. But I was a police officer or government worker so my private enterprise experience is limited.

You can search for large IT employers via specialist recruitment agencies and scope out work opportunities.