Founded in 1912 at the epicentre of a sheep paddock, the early infrastructure of Canberra was centred around affordable housing for the public servants who had been living and working in either Sydney and Melbourne. In fact, Canberra came into being as a result of a compromise between these two cities over the location of the nation’s capital. The reason for this decision was that the site was roughly equidistant to the two larger cities.
Fast forward to the beginning of 2019, according to Realestate.com.au, Canberra was named the most liveable city in the country, with Perth and Adelaide closely followed behind. In 2018, Canberra was named the third best city to travel to in the world by the Lonely Planet. Canberra narrowly missed the top spot behind Seville, Spain and Detroit, USA. As far back as 2014, Canberra was named the best city in the world to live according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). More recently, a research conducted by the University of Canberra showed that Canberra is Australia’s happiest capital city. This begs the question of why this should be so.
Welcome to Canberra
Canberra means different things to different people. For its residents, it has all of the upside of a major metropolitan centre, with a strong creative culture, a decent coffee shop scene, and an international airport and a major sports centre with less of the negative aspects of living in a large city, such as elevated crime rates, pollution, traffic, and housing affordability and rental rates. Also, as per the ABS, Canberrans enjoy a life expectancy greater than any other state or territory in Australia. Canberran males can expect to live to their early eighties, while Canberra females on average live until their mid eighties. Situated near the South Coast as well as being in close proximity to the Snowy Mountains, one of the things that visitors to the city remark upon is its sheer natural beauty, framed by the Brindabella Mountains to the south and surrounded by National Parks like Tidbinbilla, where visitors can interact with the unique flora and fauna of the region.
Flowers and Street Machines and Everything In Between
Canberra is also home to a host of attractions such as the National Gallery, the National Library, the National Portrait Gallery and the High Court, to Parliament House and annual events from Summernats and the National Folk Festival, the city is only two hours drive to the sea and nestled at the foothills of the Brindabellas. Canberra even has its own NRL team, the Canberra Raiders, as well as its own flower festival, Floriade.
But it is not only these events and landmarks that define the city. Canberra also enjoys an enviable reputation for its educational institutions, from early schooling through to tertiary education, its comparatively low crime rate, and even its developing coffee and cuisine culture. These are some of the elements that make the city a desirable place to live, with a steady population growth of around 1 percent per annum over the past three years, to 467,000 in 2022, making it Australia’s fastest growing city, as well as being the only Australian city in the top 20 fastest growing cities worldwide, sitting at number 17 overall, as per Knight Frank’s Global Residential Cities index.
Life on Campus
As per the QS World University Rankings, the Australian National University is ranked number one in Australia, while the University of Canberra was ranked 24 out of a pool of 36 universities. In addition, the Canberra Institute of Technology boasts a well deserved reputation for vocational education. The ANU has recently undergone a major reconstruction, mainly centred on providing affordable housing for students. There exists a healthy competition between it and the University of Canberra, with the ANU enjoying a reputation for its intellectual rigour, while UC prides itself on its graduate employment outcomes, which reached a level of 97.7 percent in the 2020 Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching Graduate Outcomes Survey, making it the number one ranking in Australia. The ANU boasts an enviable reputation, with a 2018 survey conducted by ShanghaiRanking Graduate Ranking of Academic Subjects.
Policing the Nation’s Capital
Policing in Canberra is the domain of the Federal Police and the crime rate in Canberra is measured at 17.6, which is the lowest of all the capital cities. In the ACT Government’s 2019-2022 Budget, $33.9 million dollars was invested over four years to bolster an already strong baseline level of funding. ACT Policing operates under a ‘four pillars’ model: systemic approach, intelligence led, evidence based and mobility driven. ACT policing recently announced that Canberrans could expect to see more police on the ground as the force seeks to engage more with the community. Under this new model, police will focus more on addressing known crime risks before they cause harm to the community. Disruption, prevention and problem solving are the key pillars of these reforms.
Healthcare
The Canberra Hospital in Woden is the main healthcare facility in the Australian Capital Territory, servicing more than 500,000 people, according to the hospital. A smaller hospital, Calvary, in the suburb of Bruce, also serves to bolster the healthcare facilities in Canberra. Both have been strained by the pandemic, but have shown remarkable resilience in coping with this and other, more commonplace complaints. The pandemic has been a game changer in the healthcare sector, putting strain on staff and leading to long waiting times in emergency wards. According to the most recent data, the ACT has contributed to 0.6 percent of Covid-related deaths, at sixteen, in comparison with NSW, at 864, or 33.8 percent, and Victoria, at 1,557, or 60.9, as per the Federal Department of Health.
Canberra International Airport
The development and evolution of Canberra International Airport, adding to the growth of the tourism sector and reducing the time taken for Canberrans to travel to the other major capitals, is the eighth busiest airport in Australia, and was constructed in the 1920s before being taken over by the RAAF in 1939. The airport was privatised in 1998 and hosted its first international flight in 2004. A thriving commercial district has evolved in Majura Park, located next to it, including Costco and Ikea outlets, as well as a thriving mall at which you can choose between Woolworths or Aldi for your grocery shopping, pick up a book at a bargain price, or explore the various food outlets to find something to fill your stomach.
A Growing City
The development of Majura Park, as well as suburbs such as Gungahlin and Coombs, is a testament to the momentum of the construction industry in Canberra. The ACT government is demolishing older, government-owned dwellings close to the major hubs and replacing them with private apartments, while giving housing tenants choices about where they would like to live, a process called ‘peppercorning’. You can see the results of the construction boom if you drive through the town centre or Belconnen, the workers with their hard hats on and the massive cranes rising far above the ground. Dun & Bradstreet have a comprehensive list of construction companies operating in Canberra.
Economics 101
Canberra has a strong economy, with an unemployment rate of 3.1 percent. Its backbone is the public service, which employs one third of the overall workforce. It is also becoming a hub for renewable energy, ICT, and Digital Commerce. In addition, many leading aerospace and defence companies, such as Lockheed Martin, also have offices here. As per the latest Census data, the ACT has the fastest growing economy and the sixth-largest economy in Australia. Canberra’s average household income is $82,693, with a median weekly household income of $2,087. These figures are roughly in line with the national averages, and go part of the way towards explaining Canberra ranking so highly in liveability and happiness rankings.
Eat Your Heart Out
In addition, Canberra’s cuisine scene is vibrant and world class, with many fine hatted restaurants and some hidden gems popping up all the time, serving everything from good old fashioned Australian fare, to pan-Asian to Ethiopian to traditional European cuisine. Visit the Pavilion website for forty five dishes chosen by locals. Or better yet, go to Dickson shops and be amazed at the number and quality of Chinese restaurants there.
Live Longer, Live Better
Canberra is, by most benchmarks, a great place to live. That it is also a great place to visit is a happy coincidence. Affectionately known as the Bush Capital, it has retained its natural beauty despite a surging economy and a population growth rate that is the highest in Australia. The old stereotypes of a town filled with politicians and public servants is slowly changing. It has become a truly international city, albeit a small one, whose full potential is well within reach. At any rate, all of this goes to explaining why Canberra has become the city that it is. It has a robust, mixed economy, plenty of landmarks and events to go and see, an excellent education system, a resilient healthcare sector, and a booming real estate market at prices that are slightly better than the national averages. This is not to mention a great live music scene and a well regarded arts community. But don’t just take our word for it. Come and see. You might even want to stay.