Lightening Online

One of the first things we noticed when we drove into Canberra was how aggressive the drivers are.  We’d just come from Adelaide where drivers have one of the worst reputations for courtesy on the roads so it took us by surprise.  It’s a busy time of year here so it’s difficult to tell whether this is a problem that is always present or a result of more traffic on the roads (and maybe too many tourists with no idea where they are going????).

The major roads heading into the suburbs are nice and large and flow reasonably well at all times of the day but we’ve been caught in the city centre during peak times twice now and there is a bit of a bottle neck through there.  Had we known the area better, we may have been able to take a route that avoided the city.  The second time we got caught took us by surprise.  We’re used to the worst of peak hour starting around 5.30pm.  Here it seems to be worse between 5.00 and 5.30pm than it is after 5.30pm.  We’re wondering if that’s a sign of lots of public servants that finish at 5.00 rather than 5.30?

It’s quite a strange feeling to drive around Canberra, particularly if you’re sticking to the major roads.  It’s not uncommon to not see a single house along the way.  In fact, for a while there we were wondering if anybody actually LIVED here.  All the roads are lined by trees which block the view and the suburbs seem to be set back a little from the major linking roads.

This is our first time in a strange city with our navigational system and for the most part it has made life SO much easier.  Unlike Adelaide where you regularly pass supermarkets and other shopping centres, here you need to know where you’re going in order to find anything.

Another thing we’ve found rather different to what we’re used to is the parking.  While most places have plenty of parking, it’s nearly all PAID parking.  Even the Woolworths we went to out in the suburbs has paid parking for most of the carpark.  Fortunately, a lot of the parking is reasonably cheap (at least in comparison to the cost of parking in the city of Adelaide).  We’re certainly not accumulating shrapnel (loose change) here.

It’s certainly a very picturesque place to live and with the suburbs separated from the major roads, I imagine it would be a fairly peaceful place to live.  I’m not sure I’d describe it as "friendly" though.  And it’s certainly not cheap.  I think for now I’m satisfied to be a visitor and head back to my own neck of the woods for day to day living.