Yesterday I noted that I am often in the habit of writing a list of things that I really liked about places I have visited as well as another list of the things I am not so fond of… and a friend pointed out that even though I have travelled to Canberra on more occasions than I can count, I have never done a ‘Canberra Pros & Cons’ list. No doubt this list is highly influenced by my friends and the sorts of things we tend to do when I get to town. So here goes:
Things I like about Canberra…
There’s absolutely no traffic compared to Brisbane – awesome sauce!
The National Gallery of Australia gets all the really sexy art exhibitions.
The CBD is fairly flat and compact for walking/getting around.
Everything feels relatively close, short walk to here, short walk to there.
Poachers Pantry is but a short drive away. 😉
Easy access: fancy new airport takes about 2 mins to traverse from end to end.
They have a cool hot air balloon festival, and I love hot air balloons!
It’s a relatively small city so feels quick and easy to get out of town.
Is a goodly proximity to Sydney, without being too close of course.
Plenty of good restaurants, cafes and bars (maybe too many!)
Close to snow and ski fields and fun winter stuff.
For the most part, very clean city – feels ‘new’ and not that much graffiti.
Lots of nationally significant places… War Memorial etc, Old Parliament House etc.
People tend to be politically aware and have informed opinions – yay!
Doesn’t matter where they move it, CBR is always closer to Festival than BNE.
Most of the suburbs are very green and leafy and feel quaint.
Bonus: it’s a complete sausage fest. Men outnumber the women, big time.
Things I don’t like about Canberra…
It gets really fucking cold. Period.
The CBD often feels a bit bleak; grey concrete bunkers, grey suits, grey skies.
They hide their petrol stations and you can drive for ages to find them.
Anyone not wearing a lanyard/security passes immediately looks like a tourist.
Dining out culture is expensive and unhealthy – always eat out too much in CBR.
Hospitality staff tend towards the snobby side unless they know you!??
Sensitivity towards indigenous communities is completely over the top in CBR.
Yet the names of most suburbs are as Anglo as they come.
Always feels like I’m positively desiccating from the low humidity.
Canberra’s ‘National Zoo’ has hardly any Australian animals in it! (getting better though).
People can be weird about their security clearance levels – Canberra oneupmanship?
Once you’ve done the tourist traps there’s not a lot to do.
Australian National University’s Medieval history department is non-existent.
You can’t eat the seafood – imho, the ocean is too far away!
So many trips to Canberra, and so many good times. Yet, very little of it stems from the city itself and Canberra has to offer. It has a good deal more to do with having so many wonderful friends living down there. I imagine I could easily live in Canberra (so long as I had a house with a really good heating system!), but again, it would be for the same reasons. We have so many really good friends in Canberra, whose company I really enjoy… not because I like the climate or the lifestyle that the city offers. 🙂